More consumers recognizing importance of vacuum filters in cleaning efficiency, vacuum performance and air quality

NEWARK, DE, May 1, 2002 - Ninety-five percent of Americans recently surveyed describe the air in their homes as "clean and healthy," when, in fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has consistently ranked indoor air pollution among the top five environmental risks to public health. The survey was sponsored by W. L. Gore & Associates, the Newark, Delaware-based manufacturer of CleanStream® vacuum filtration products for home and industrial uses, and was conducted by International Communications Research. EPA studies of human exposure to air pollutants indicate that indoor air levels of many pollutants may be two to five times, and occasionally, more than 100 times higher than outdoor levels.

"The good news is that consumers can take charge of the situation every time they turn on their vacuums," said Michael Debes, technical leader on the CleanStream filter team at W. L. Gore & Associates. "An efficient vacuum cleaner will help capture most dust, allergens and irritants from carpets, furniture and other surfaces as you vacuum, while an efficient vacuum cleaner filter will help prevent particles - as small as 1/300th the diameter of a human hair - from re-entering the atmosphere after they are collected by the vacuum cleaner," said Debes. "The result is a cleaner home environment for families."

More than 97 percent of Americans surveyed believe that cleaning their homes is important to their air quality and nearly 50 percent of respondents said their primary vacuum is two years old or less, which means that they are benefiting from some of the latest vacuum filtration technologies.

(CleanStream filters help the vacuum cleaner's ability to maintain maximum airflow so that consumers capture and retain more dust with every pass of the vacuum.)

When it comes to the relationship between vacuum filters and indoor air quality, Americans seem to make the connection. Ninety-five percent of those surveyed said they considered a filter on their vacuum "important" to the quality of the air they breathe inside their home, and more than 83 percent of the Americans surveyed think it's important to have a vacuum filter that can be cleaned. (The CleanStream® filter offers the benefit of trapping dirt, dust and pet dander on the surface of the filter, enabling users to remove the filter and tap off the particles before returning it to the vacuum to achieve peak operating performance.)

In the same survey, Americans ranked filtration third among the features that are most important to them when buying a vacuum cleaner, right behind a vacuum cleaner's power and its manufacturer's reputation. A vacuum cleaner's style, as well as its comfort, weight and handling, were less important than filtration to customers.

As consumers are beginning to recognize the benefits of efficient vacuum filters, more vacuum manufacturers are starting to offer increasingly more sophisticated filtering systems on their vacuum models. Dirt Devil® brand vacuum cleaners recently enhanced its Vision® line by installing Gore's CleanStream filters. "Providing the best possible vacuum filter to purchasers of our vacuum cleaners was important to Dirt Devil," said Cyndi Caffoe, Dirt Devil product manager. "More efficient filters like CleanStream® help prevent clogs that can restrict airflow and result in a reduction of the vacuum cleaner's full suction power. A good filter enables the vacuum cleaner to perform better."

Record-level vacuum sales suggest that consumers care about vacuum cleaner performance and want to benefit from the latest vacuum cleaner technology available on the market. Industry unit sales of full-size household vacuum cleaners in the third quarter of 2001 were higher than any other third quarter in history, according to the Vacuum Cleaner Manufacturers Association. Despite a weak U.S. economy, industry sales of full-size household vacuum cleaners remained strong in 2001 with 19,332,921 total units sold, slightly down from the previous record year of 19,550,381, according to the same source.

Other findings from the survey include:

• Younger people vacuum more frequently than older people. More than 34 percent of respondents aged 18 to 34 said they vacuum more than three times a week, compared to only 5.5 percent of Americans aged 65 or older. Nearly half (49.5 percent) of those over 65 say they vacuum once a week, with only 23 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds saying the same.
• When it comes to selecting a vacuum cleaner based on a factor other than price, men are slightly more inclined than women to base the decision on power, while three times more women than men look for comfort, weight and handling.
• Half of respondents said that their primary vacuum cleaner is only one to two years old, or even less than a year. This may reflect a trend towards Americans buying a vacuum cleaner for each floor of their home, to avoid moving the vacuum for cleaning.
• Sixty-four percent said they would pay more for a vacuum if its filters were able to trap more pollen, pet dander and other allergens and airborne impurities in their home than any other vacuum cleaner filter.

Research methodology
International Communications Research, located in Media, Pennsylvania, conducted the vacuum filtration research on behalf of W. L. Gore & Associates as part of its twice-weekly, national EXCEL telephone omnibus surveys.

Click here for key survey results.

CleanStream filters background
CleanStream filters, made with a space-age polymer and engineered with composite membrane technology, can stop particles at the surface of the filter while resisting permanent clogging. The particles can be easily tapped away clean from the surface of the filter, restoring like-new airflow and efficiency.

Most ordinary filters are depth filters, which draw and capture particles inside the filter, eventually causing clogging and reduced airflow through the filter. The benefit of CleanStream® filters is found in it composite membrane, which contains the polymer found in the revolutionary GORE-TEX® membrane used to make space suits and microparticulate filters for medical applications. The membrane is readily permeated by air, yet stops dust and particles from entering deep inside the filter and can be easily restored with a simple cleaning of the filter. As a result, air (and suction) flow freely through the filter.

W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. background
Perhaps best known for its consumer products like GORE-TEX® fabric, GLIDE® dental floss and ELIXIR® guitar strings, Gore is a leading manufacturer of thousands of advanced technology products for the electronics, industrial, fabrics and medical markets. Gore is headquartered in Newark, Delaware, and is one of only eight companies included in every selection of Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For" since the list began in 1984. The company employs approximately 6,000 associates at 45 facilities throughout the world.

Editor's Note: Media kits with more detailed consumer information about indoor air pollution, vacuuming and efficient filtration are available upon request and online at www.cleanstreamfilters.com.