PRESS RELEASE: One in ten owners are allergic to their animals - Vorwerk study

Media release   22 May 2017   One in ten pet owners is allergic to their furry friend • Nearly one in ten (8%) pet owners is allergic to their pet • 61% wouldn't consider giving up their pet because they love it too much • Half (48%) don't have any special cleaning measures to reduce the impact of their allergy • Tips on how to reduce pet allergens in the home   More than half of pet owners have admitted that they wouldn't consider giving up their animals even if they were allergic to it, a survey has revealed.   Following research by home appliance maker Vorwerk*, figures found that nearly one in ten (8%) pet owners were actually allergic to their furry friends.   However, 61% said they wouldn't lose their pet because of their allergies, whilst 53% saw their pets as part of the family.   Adding to the impact, almost half of households with allergies (48%) revealed that they did not have any special cleaning measures to reduce the impact of their allergy, making it worse for their loved ones.   Dr Jill Warner, Allergy expert and immunologist, said: "Pets are the second most important cause of domestic allergy, after the house dust mite. The allergens are found in the pet's dander, hair, saliva and urine.   "The cat allergen is very small so can quickly and easily spread, often settling in dust from floors and soft furnishings, in the air and even on walls. Dog allergens are larger particles which may be the reason why fewer people show allergic symptoms to dogs than they do to cats.   "Allergen control must be aimed at areas in the home where people spend most of their time and where allergen exposure is heaviest.  In practice this means applying special cleaning measures to the bedrooms and living room at a minimum."   Dr Jill Warner's top tips for an allergy free home Keep pets away from your bed. It's important to keep pets away from your bed to avoid them from spreading their allergens all over the area where you sleep.  Use allergen-proof barrier covers on all mattresses, duvets and pillows and wash your bedding regularly at at least 60 degrees.   Put soft toys in the freezer.  If your child is allergic to house dust mites put  soft toys in the freezer for 24 hours once a week to kill the mites . Wash the toy in the washing machine afterwards and leave to dry before allowing your child to play with it again.   Replace carpets with hard flooring. Replace your carpets with vinyl or wood flooring as these accumulate less allergens. If you have rugs in your home wash them regularly.     Vacuum regularly. Where carpets can't be removed, make sure you vacuum regularly along with vacuuming beds and soft furnishings.  It's important to use a high filtration vacuum cleaner which is able to collect and contain very small particles and clean a variety of surfaces such as the Kobold VK200 home cleaning system.   Decrease home humidity by increasing the ventilation. Try to keep your windows open and use extractor fans in kitchens and bathrooms to keep the house dry and ventilated. However if you are allergic to pollen windows should be closed during the grass and tree pollen seasons.   Cleaning expert Thomas Henningsson from Vorwerk added: "It's certainly no secret that the UK is a nation of pet lovers, but there are clearly a lot of people suffering so they can live with their furry friends.    "Our Kobold VK200 home cleaning system effectively removes allergens and pet hair, using filtering systems that deep clean your home. The VK200 uses a premium, three stage filter system which captures 99.99% of all dust particles and keeps them safely out of the air and inside the dust bag.  The multiple cleaning tools that it offers mean you can quickly and effectively clean pet hair and fur from all your carpets and soft furnishings."   For more information and tips on how to help keep your house clean when you have pets, please visit HERE.  -Ends- Notes to Editors For media enquiries, images, videos or interviews with the Vorwerk UK team, please email vorwerk@faith-pr.co.uk or call 01484 599 886.   *Research carried out by OnePoll among a nationally representative sample of 1,000 people between 20.03.2017-24.03.2017. OnePoll are members of ESOMAR and employ members of the MRS.    For more information about the Vorwerk Kobold VK200 vacuum cleaner, go to https://kobold.vorwerk.co.uk/home/   Follow Vorwerk UK on Twitter: @VorwerkUK Find Vorwerk UK on Facebook: Vorwerk UK   About Dr Jill Warner  Dr Jill Warner is an Honorary Professor at The University of Cape Town and was previously Reader in Allergy and Immunology in the Division of Medicine at Imperial College London. Dr Warner was also Head of Education for the Women and Children's Clinical Programme group at Imperial College Healthcare Trust from 2008-2011. She established the first UK Masters level course in Allergy at the University of Southampton in 2000 where she was the School of Medicine Co-ordinator of Taught Postgraduate Programmes and has subsequently established a new e-learning Postgraduate Certificate/MSc in Allergy at Imperial College that commenced in 2008 and for which she was the Course Director until 2016.   To request a media interview with Dr Jill Warner email vorwerk@faith-pr.co.uk     The history of Vorwerk  Vorwerk & Co. KG was founded in Wuppertal in 1883. During the course of its 130-year history, the company, originally a carpet factory, has grown into a highly diversified, global corporate group. Vorwerk nevertheless remains a family enterprise to this day.   Since 1930, Vorwerk's core business has been the direct selling of high-quality products. Divisions include Kobold, Thermomix, Twercs, Jafra Cosmetics, Lux, Vorwerk Flooring and akf bank. Superior products and a special customer approach are something all divisions have in common, and what makes Vorwerk so special.   Vorwerk has more than 12,000 employees worldwide and more than 600,000 sales people, and in 2015 generated a business volume totalling more than 3.4 billion euros with operations in 70 countries.   Vorwerk products have been available in the UK market for the last 30 years.

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