Sometimes you just get lucky.

In my ongoing attempt to become the primary destination for parents who want to talk shit about their children, I am occasionally afforded some fun opportunities from brands who have a sense of humor or who haven’t actually read my blog. I got to participate in a photo shoot with Dove Men+ Care, I’ve written about some cool products, I’ve even been on a podcast or two. (Not lately though, AHEM!)

Every now and again, someone will reach out with an offer that seems to have little connection to my blog or even my life, like when a company that makes air purifiers asked me if I’d like to try one of their products.

You wouldn’t think such a thing was necessarily in line with my content, and normally it wouldn’t be. But as “luck” would have it, Detective Munch had just gotten some bad news from the allergist…

I don’t know jack about airwashers or humidifiers or purifiers or allergies or parenting or anything, really. Even my weird, twenty-year obsession with Scientology was neutered when everyone saw the HBO documentary and suddenly knew everything I’d know for ages!

But I know when my son is uncomfortable and not feeling well, and about a year and a half ago, when we were still in Raleigh, we nearly took him to the emergency room because of a bad cough and some trouble breathing. In fact, when we got to the doctor, the first thing they said was, “If it’s ever this bad again, take him to the emergency room,” so that was fun! (Newsflash: the emergency room is NEVER fun.)

Detective Munch had a bad cold, and some respiratory struggles required that he be put on a nebulizer, which makes him look a little like Darth Vader but is neither as scary (nor as cool) as that sounds (as you can see in the photo above). The medicine that pumps through helps open up his lungs but also speeds his heartbeat and makes him hyper, which is kind of like making the ocean wetter, only a lot more annoying.

He made it through that experience okay, but we had to take a nebulizer home with us. We’re hoping these issues don’t develop into full-blown asthma, but the fact that he’s had this issue once, coupled with the fact that he was recently diagnosed with some bad allergies, in particular dust mites and cat dander, doesn’t make it easy. His allergies exacerbate his breathing issues, as well as the bit of eczema he already contends with, which means we need to use the nebulizer fairly often and also probably hire a maid, to get some allergy relief.

Then, just as Mom and Buried and I were fretting over how to possibly eliminate dust from our apartment, the good people at Venta emailed me out of the blue and asked if I’d like to try one of their Air washers. I don’t believe in serendipity but I have seen the terrible movie (Kate Beckinsale FTW!), so after I read up on the product and did a little research. It’s a portable, filterless humidifier and air purifier in one, which, given my son’s issues with both eczema and chest tightness, sounded like a perfect solution.

I took them up on it and now we have a little white box in the hallway outside of my son’s room that pumps clean air and cleans dirty air and humidifies regular air (I think? I’M NOT A SCIENTIST) and should help eliminate the dust and, hopefully, also help reduce the kid’s occasional respiratory distress. It’s very quiet – even at its highest setting, it’s still just a low hum – and it doesn’t need filters, which makes maintenance a lot easier. It does suck up a LOT of water though, especially if you run it continuously, so have a pitcher at the ready!

We’ve only had the thing for a few weeks, at the peak of pollen season, and while it’s probably a bit early to judge how well it’s helped his breathing, I can definitely say that his eczema has dwindled considerably. Also, Mom and Buried has been sleeping better since we got it! It helps that it’s portable, and quite light (when it’s not full of water), so we’ve been able to use it in multiple locations.

Maybe if we get ten of these things, we can even get a cat! Unfortunately I don’t think Venta helps make furniture unshreddable.

If you have a cat, you can let me know – after you win one! Venta Airwasher has generously offered to give a free airwasher to one of my readers, all you have to do is enter the giveaway below. The more simple tasks you complete, the more chances you get to win!

Enter to win Venta Airwasher’s mid-size model, the LW25.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Links to all of Venta’s social media sites:
https://www.youtube.com/user/VentaAirwasherInc
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https://www.facebook.com/VentaAirwasherInc