Your home is one of the primary sources of allergens you and your family are exposed to, and you may not even realize it. Allergens can lurk everywhere, and it can be difficult for children who have asthma and other health issues related to allergies, plus it can just diminish your overall quality of life if you’re feeling unwell.
What’s surprising to a lot of parents and people in general is the fact that research shows the air in our homes can be anywhere from two to five times more polluted than the air outside.
The following are some ways that you can control and remove allergens from your home, and help your family be less sick in the process.
Remove Curtains
If you have curtains around your home, they can be clinging onto pet fur and dander and a variety of other allergens. Consider replacing your curtains, and if you want to make sure you still have privacy you can go with something like vertical blinds.
Vertical blinds offer the same kind of coverage as curtains, but they tend to be easier to clean and more resistant to various allergens.
Damp Dust
You might think that regularly dusting your home is good for removing allergens and dust, but it can actually make it worse because you’re putting the particles into the air. Rather than dusting with a feather duster or dry cloth, use a damp cloth. You want to make sure that you’re collecting dust instead of just scattering it.
Mold
Mold is one of the number one allergens, and it’s a key trigger of asthma attacks, and it thrives in places in your home that are moist. To eliminate the risk of mold developing first look under sinks and around pipes to make sure there are no drips. You should also have a ventilation fan in your bathrooms that should be running during showers or baths. If you don’t have that, at the very least try to crack windows and doors when someone is in the shower.
Areas in and around your refrigerator can also be full of moisture, so look at your drip pans and other areas where this can be happening.
Washing Bedding
Regularly washing bedding may be a hassle, but it’s important to keep allergens at bay. Try to wash all of your bedding at least once a week in water that’s at least 130 degrees. You should also thoroughly dry them at a high temperature. Additionally, you can make sure mattresses and pillows are protected with allergen-proof covers.
While you’re at it, make sure you wash your kids’ stuffed animals that they play with regularly, and keep the others stored in plastic containers.
As a final note, make sure there’s a mat by all of your exterior doors where people can wipe your feet, and if anyone in your family has particularly bad allergies, it’s usually best to ask them to take their shoes off when they come in. Allergens can be tracked in on shoes and make it harder to keep them away when you’re cleaning your home.
….
