Do central vacuum cleaners produce less indoor airborne dust or airborne cat allergen, during and after vacuuming, compared with regular vacuum cleaners?

UNLABELLED: Vacuum cleaners with a central exhaust may lead to lower airborne dust and allergen concentrations compared with regular vacuum cleaners. In 12 houses, equipped with a central vacuum cleaning system, a standardized vacuum cleaning protocol was performed comparing airborne dust and allergen concentrations between the central system and a regular cleaner. Airborne dust concentrations during (104 vs. 95 microg/m(3)) and after vacuum cleaning (38 vs. 36 microg/m(3)) were not significantly different. In houses with a cat, Fel d 1 concentrations were also not significantly different either during (6.12 vs.5.91 ng/m(3)) and after (0.64 vs. 0.91 ng/m(3)) use of the vacuum cleaners. Airborne dust and Fel d 1 concentrations increased considerably during use of both vacuum cleaners. Compared with central vacuum cleaning systems, conventional modern vacuum cleaners do not cause higher airborne dust or cat allergen concentrations during and after use. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: This study shows that the amount of dust or cat allergen in the air during and after vacuum cleaning is similar when comparing a central vacuum cleaner with a regular vacuum cleaner. Therefore, allergen avoidance advice given to reduce exposure of allergic asthmatic patients to allergens, does not necessarily have to include switching to a central vacuum cleaner.