Catherine and I have always the problem of sensitive noses (sinus for me, allergy for Catherine). We would sneeze or have running nose whenever there is a change in the environment (difference in temperature, humidity etc) or when the air is dusty. As for Darius, we also saw him sneeze quite often, though he was not down with a flu or anything.

We consulted the doctor and he mentioned that it would be most likely due to allergy that is causing his sneezing behaviour. Looks like Darius has inherited our sensitive nose traits.

Catherine has always commented on a strange, musky smell whenever she entered our master bedroom, and she would often land up in a sneezing spell upon entering the room. As for me, I did smell a faint musky smell too, but usually my nose would still be able to take it.

It was last weekend that Catherine did a comprehensive search on the Net regarding the smell and she uncovered that it could be mold that were causing all our sneezing problems:

Mold (aka fungus) had likely invaded our bedroom, judging from the persistent musky smell that we were experiencing. Also, since we have always closed the master bedroom’s bathroom’s windows, the moisture in the bathroom had been trapped and thus promoting the growth of mold.

Catherine also read about the washing machine being infected by molds and indeed, a strange smell was emitting from the machine’s drum. Most likely it was ‘infected’ due to the washing of some of the moldy clothes, which probably got the mold when they were left unworn in the room’s wardrobe.

To clean the washing machine, she had to run one round of the washing routine with no laundry loaded but with bleach in the drum. That should remove most of the mold in the washing machine.

Our biggest concern would still be the master bedroom, since we are spending a lot of time in it. Previously, we had been using the OSIM iMist to humidify the room, not knowing that that could have been further encouraging the growth of the mold, since they strive in environment with higher humidity!

We had also used water aromatherapy for a while, where a few drops of chemicals were dropped into a swirling solution to freshen up the surroundings. However, as we were worried that the chemical emitted into the air could be harmful to Darius, we have thus stopped using it, together with the humidifer.

The next step would then to eliminate the mold in the room and maintain a mold-free environment. The airing of the bathroom, re-washing of the clothes and mopping of the floor could help get rid of the mold, but we would still need to ensure that the mold would not return.

Coincidentally, a colleague of mine was recommending me to get an air purifier at home, since he noticed how I was always having running nose problems (sinus) or falling sick due to URTI (Upper Respiratory Tract Infectionm, aka common flu etc). He had been using one since a few months ago and his wife’s sensitive nose issue has been much improved since.

Taking note of his recommendations and reading up reviews on his recommended Sharp FU-S51E Plasmacluster air purifier, we decided to fork out the sum of the money from our savings (he bought it at S$699) for the well-being of our health.

We set out to Courts in Causeway Point on Sunday, to be disappointed that they do not carry any Sharp products. We were advised to check out Best Denki instead but with the nearest shop at Bishan, we were quite reluctant to make our way down on that day due to our already-tired bodies.

Then on Monday, I took a half day leave and drove down to Junction 8 with Catherine and Darius. When we were at Best Denki, we were glad to see there was a promotion going on, which priced the purifier at $629 instead of the original $799 price tag (my colleague bought his at a promotion too).

We then approached the sales assistance to enquire on the product but when he came over, he kept commenting that it was not worth buying the Sharp air purifier we were interested in. Instead, he persistently recommended the products from another brand, Honeywell. He repeatedly insisting that it’s a famous brand used by hospitals and it had stronger suction power etc.

Despite his strong recommendations, we were not comfortable with this Honeywell alternative as it looked bulky and not eye-pleasing at all. Though practicality comes first, we would not be comfortable with this eye-sore sitting in our master bedroom. Also, the noise level generated was higher than that of Sharp’s, so it would probably be an issue since we will leave it on when we are sleeping.

So we continued to be firm with our decision and asked to purchase the Sharp air purifier, only to be told that they were all out of stock! The salesperson should have ensured right from the start that they were in stock (he told me there were stock when I first asked him, and only told me there’s no more stocks after he actually checked the storeroom), or did he already know about it and that’s why he kept insisting on the Honeywell products?

We were disappointed by their service and attitude but we were not giving up on getting what we wanted, and I asked the salesperson which was the next nearest Best Denki outlet that still had the stock. After several phone call attempts (looks like even their staff are getting a hard time getting through the line of their own branches), he finally confirmed that there were still stocks at the Compass Point.

Since I’ve rented a car that day, I had to extend the rental period but we were glad we drove here instead of taking a cab, since it’s more convenient for us now that we needed to travel over to Compass Point.

After a 20-minute drive, we arrived at Compass Point’s Best Denki and finally bought the air purifier we wanted. The salesperson from Bishan’s branch had told me that both the black and white models (the other model is red in colour) were available but when I checked with the staff at Compass Point’s branch, only the white was available. Luckily we were only interested in the white version else we would have made a wasted trip down there again.

Since then, we have been using this Sharp air purifier for nearly a week, switched on 24 hours a day. We have set it to Auto mode so it would consume minimum electricity when it detects that the air is clean.

Besides looking slim and sitting nicely into our bedroom, the purifier emits green, orange or red lights on the top, depending on the air condition. It makes for a pleasant night light but worried that it might be too bright for Darius to get a good sleep at night, we had covered the top with a towel to block the light, despite the nice ambience it provides.

The purifier fits in nicely into our room.

So far, I haven’t been experiencing any sneezing or running nose after waking up, and the musky smell of the bedroom has since disappeared. As for Catherine and Darius though, they are still sneezing occassionally in the room, though the frequency has been reduced. Hopefully the air purifier will continue to work hard and relieve them of their conditions.

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