Fall House Cleaning: Essential for a Wholesome Environment NORTH CANTON, Ohio, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- While you and your family enjoyed Mother Nature at her best this past summer, a lot of the outside was being tracked inside on shoes and pet paws or wafted through the window screen. Pesticides, road dust with motor oil, ragweed and grass pollens may have entered the home. Microscopic allergens known as dust mites were burrowing into bedding, upholstery and carpeting. And normal house dust was accumulating particles of bacteria, fungi and airborne mold spores. Before you move indoors and close up the house for winter, it's important to adopt a good cleaning regimen to reduce allergens in your home. With planning and prioritizing, fall cleaning can be manageable. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, regular vacuuming has been shown to reduce dust significantly. Look for a quality vacuum cleaner such as the Hoover(R) Self Propelled WindTunnel(TM) upright vacuum cleaner, recently rated number one by a leading consumer magazine. This cleaner excels at getting embedded dirt that can harbor allergens, and some models have a red light and a green light to tell the user when the carpet needs more vacuuming and when it is clean. WindTunnel technology keeps the dirt away from the machine's spinning agitator so that it doesn't get scattered back onto the carpet. The Self Propelled WindTunnel upright comes with allergen filtration that captures 100 percent of dust mites and their eggs and 99.9 percent of ragweed and common grass pollens. Be sure to vacuum all household horizontal surfaces, using your vacuum cleaner attachments as multi-task tools. To dust furniture, use the dusting brush -- instead of a cloth -- that sucks up dust, rather than spreading it into the air. Use dust wands and extension hoses to get at cobwebs and tiny corners as well as big areas, like sofas and dressers. Clean along baseboards -- dust mites thrive in moisture that often builds along baseboards. The Hoover Self-Propelled WindTunnel upright comes with a powered hand tool for vacuuming carpeted stairs, upholstery or any small area. The cleaning experts at Hoover offer these additional hints: -- First, remove clutter. That quickly makes a room look better, gets rid of piles that accumulate dust and dirt -- and it's easier to clean when you're not tripping over piles of toys or magazines. -- Have appropriate cleaning supplies and tools ready. A large bucket or cleaning tray makes it easy to take them from room to room. -- Clean the dirtiest areas first and work from the top down. That way, dust from dressers or window treatments won't end up on freshly vacuumed carpet. -- If you can do it all at once, great -- or break the work down into reasonable blocks of time. Concentrate on one room at a time. Transforming a dirt-intensive room into a sparkling one gives a feeling of accomplishment and motivation. Or tackle one big job first, like washing windows to see results. -- Pay special attention to the bedroom, since most people spend one-third of their time sleeping. Bedding can be a haven for accumulating dust mites. Wash bed linens in hot water (over 130 degrees F), hot enough to kill mites. Use plastic covers on pillows, mattresses and comforters to keep dust mites out. -- Don't get bogged down on reorganizing closets, switching from summer to fall clothes, or other lengthy tasks. Set aside a special time for big reorganization jobs. -- Focus special attention on areas not cleaned, such as valances and blinds, and heavy traffic areas such as entryways. -- Deep-clean carpets with a hot water extractor every three months, in addition to regular vacuuming. This helps remove oily dirt that can cling to carpet fibers. Deep cleaning also can be done on fabric furniture to obtain brighter colors, a fresh look and to help remove indoor allergens. -- Assign one room to each member of the family to make the job go faster. Even small children can help out by putting toys away or clearing clutter. -- Buy a good quality doormat and wipe your feet so that outdoor allergens get left outside the door. -- When fall cleaning is done, take satisfaction in having created a more attractive home and a wholesome environment. Hoover, the leader in floor care for 95 years, offers a full line of products, including uprights, canisters, extractors, stick cleaners, hard- floor cleaners, hand-held cleaners, central vacuum systems and commercial products. Hoover is based in North Canton, Ohio, where it was established in 1908. Learn more about The Hoover Company and its products at http://www.hoover.com/ . Contact: Jacquelyn Love 330-499-9200 ext. 2056 DATASOURCE: The Hoover Company CONTACT: Jacquelyn Love of The Hoover Company, +1-330-499-9200, ext. 2056, Web site: http://www.hoover.com/ x

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