Many people don’t realise the difference between a professional carpet cleaning machine and your standard home vacuum, so we thought we’d do a bit of an explanation, and show you a little illustration of how both machines work, and all those things your home vacuum isn’t picking up. Differences between a vacuum and a professional carpet cleaner →

It’s been one of the worst years on record for allergy sufferers. In our neighbourhood there’s so much pollen that as puddles dry, a yellow ring of pollen marks where they once were. A third of Kiwis experience hay fever allergies in some form, but this year even people that don’t usually suffer from allergies are experiencing itchy noses and eyes. Worse, pollen can continue to aggravate allergy sufferers long after the trees have stopped flowering. Pollen works by floating through the air and sticking to the flowers of other plants, but what makes it stick to birds and bees also makes it pretty good at sticking to your clothes, shoes, the dog and anything else that goes outside – not to mention simply drifting in through the window. And once they’re indoors, there are so many more soft surfaces to stick to. It’s true, your house can act like a giant pollen collector, but we’ve got a few solutions to help you breathe easier without cutting down the neighbour’s birch. Rid the house of allergy causing pollen →