Wickman M, Paues S, Emenius G
Department of Environmental Health, Stockholm County Council, Sundbyberg, Sweden.
Allergy. 1997 Nov;52(11):1123-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.1997.tb00187.x.
Mattresses are considered to be the main source of house-dust-mite (HDM) allergen. This study aimed to investigate different types of vacuum cleaners for their ability to reduce this allergen reservoir. Three types of vacuum cleaners were examined: a conventional vacuum cleaner, a water-trap cleaner, and a central vacuum cleaner. Cut out pieces of mattresses were analyzed for content of mite allergen after vacuum-cleaning. Three polyester mattresses from the homes of three children were selected for the study. These three mattresses had earlier been found to be contaminated by group 1 HDM allergen (8-15 micrograms/g of dust). Each mattress was divided into three main sections, separated by a safety zone, and each main section was subdivided into four parts. The three main sections were cleaned by each vacuum-cleaning system. Pieces 2-cm-thick of the surface of the mattresses were cut out, and extracts were made to assess the amount of mite allergen still present after different intensities of vacuum-cleaning. A considerable reduction in the level of mite allergen was found after using all three of the vacuum-cleaning systems. Only 22% of the original mite-allergen reservoir remained after intense vacuum-cleaning. Since the number of mattresses in the investigation was low, and niche formations of group 1 HDM allergen within the mattresses were observed, the results must be interpreted with caution. Furthermore, allergen-producing living dust mites were not affected by this method. However, intense vacuum-cleaning seems to reduce considerably the level of the mattress-bound mite-allergen reservoir, a fact which may be important in mite-allergic and mite-exposed families.
床垫被认为是屋尘螨（HDM）过敏原的主要来源。本研究旨在调查不同类型的真空吸尘器减少这种过敏原储存源的能力。研究了三种类型的真空吸尘器：传统真空吸尘器、水过滤吸尘器和中央真空吸尘器。对经真空清洁后的床垫切块进行螨过敏原含量分析。从三个孩子家中选取了三张聚酯床垫用于该研究。这三张床垫此前已被发现受到1组HDM过敏原污染（8 - 15微克/克灰尘）。每张床垫被分为三个主要部分，由一个安全区域隔开，每个主要部分又细分为四个部分。每个真空清洁系统对这三个主要部分进行清洁。从床垫表面切下2厘米厚的切块，并制备提取物以评估不同强度真空清洁后仍存在的螨过敏原量。使用所有三种真空清洁系统后，螨过敏原水平均有显著降低。经过强力真空清洁后，仅剩下原始螨过敏原储存源的22%。由于调查中的床垫数量较少，且观察到床垫内1组HDM过敏原存在特定分布情况，因此对结果的解读必须谨慎。此外，产过敏原的活尘螨不受此方法影响。然而，强力真空清洁似乎能大幅降低床垫上附着的螨过敏原储存源水平，这一事实对于有螨过敏和接触螨的家庭可能很重要。
