Erica R. Buteau

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Well, it’s springtime, and for most people, it’s a great time because the tulips are popping out, the bees are back, the magnolias are in bloom, and of course, you can’t forget about the cherry blossoms and other spring blossoms blooming out and about. Almost everyone looks forward to this time of year, well, almost. You see, while spring is beautiful, for folks with allergies, it’s horrible. Maybe you deal with it, maybe you know someone who deals with spring allergies. 

While the inside of the home should be the safest place from spring allergens, sometimes it’s not. Maybe even after taking care of the furniture, dusting it, dusting all the nooks and crannies in the house, maybe you or a family member is still coughing and sneezing. Honestly, spring cleaning can only do so much. So, does that ring a bell at all? Well, sometimes even after cleaning, spring allergies still just seem to be just as bad if not worse. But why? What gives? What can be done about this?

How Do Allergens “Leak” into the House?

Which is honestly a very fair question here, because yeah, what gives? What’s going on here? Well, pollen doesn’t need an invitation. Okay, that sounds silly enough, but the problem here is that pollen sticks to literally everything it can stick to. It rides in on shoes, hair, dog fur, jackets, grocery bags, basically anything that steps outside and comes back in. That’s the problem because it’s literally on to everything. If it’s been outside, well, pollen is on it now.

Plus, small openings around doors and windows, the attic hatch, recessed lighting, plumbing cutouts under sinks, dryer vents, and random cracks around the foundation can all let outdoor air creep in. Yes, even the tiniest of nooks and crannies, well, it’s coming. Basically, one way or another, pollen is going to get into that house. Also, that’s why some parts of the home are a lot worse than other parts, too.

Why Doesn’t Spring Cleaning Help?

Well, spring cleaning is great for removing what’s already inside. Things like dust, pet dander, and pollen that landed on furniture are all reduced when cleaning is consistent. But cleaning doesn’t stop the “supply chain”, that’s the thing to keep in mind here. If outside air is still slipping in through gaps, then it’s like vacuuming while leaving the windows open during peak pollen season, right? But yes, you should still clean, and even look into spring cleaning services, too, if the pollen in your house is too much to handle. 

But How Can You Fix This?

So, yes, you should still clean. You should clean your furniture, dust, clean the rugs, the curtains, and the nooks and crannies. You should still do your spring cleaning, so that needs to be hammered down here. But yes, you should try to look into other things too. Ideally, you should try to seal gaps where you gap, weatherstrip if you haven’t done any of that already, keep windows closed if you can (which might be hard because letting in fresh spring air is great).

Now, those are basic things you can do. But if you have the funds, you might want to get a bit more nitty-gritty. It might be time to change the HVAC filter, whether you do it yourself or get your HVAC company to do if for you. If your home is drafty, especially if it’s an older home, then a bigger improvement can come from tightening up the building envelope, such as looking into insulation services and sealing up any potential areas with some better insulation. Now, yes, it’s an investment, just laying that out there, but it still helps to look into it.

But you might need to use an air purifier in the meantime until this is all cleaned and patched up, if you have really bad allergies, so that’s something to think about too.