6 Easy Ways to Reduce Allergens in your Home

_{Eliminating allergens will help you and your family breathe a bit easier. Let’s go over some easy ways you can reduce allergens in your home.}

Easy Ways to Reduce Home Allergens -woman sneezing on couch

6 Easy Ways to Reduce Allergens in Your Home

HEY!!! Are your allergies worse this year? You are not imagining it! If you suffer from allergies, whether they are seasonal or from everyday occurrences like dust and pet dander, you know how irritating they can be.

According to new research from a team of scientists at Utah School of Biological Sciences; Changes in our everyday climate (mainly higher temperatures) have led to pollen seasons starting sooner and lasting longer. UGH! Right? The first line of treatment is to avoid all allergens. That might be tough, but we can certainly help you to reduce them in your home.

One way to make life easier and more comfortable for yourself, and any other family members who might suffer from allergies, is to reduce the allergens found inside your home. Together, let’s make some small changes that can create a HUGE impact.

Remove Shoes at the Door

Stop them at the door! One of the first and easiest things that you can do to reduce allergens in your home is to leave your shoes at the door. This prevents you from tracking allergens and dirt throughout your entire home. You may not realize it, but your shoes pick up a lot of unseen items.

It can make it a lot easier to keep your carpet and floors clean, too. If you don’t like being barefoot around the house, you can leave a pair of slippers for each family member by the door. Implement a no-shoe policy and create an area near the door for all shoes. Make sure you are vacuuming this area frequently. If weather permits, you can create this same area outside of your door.

Remove Carpeting

Consider allergen-resistant flooring. If you still have carpeting in your home and you suffer from allergies, removing it may make you more comfortable. Carpets hold a LOT of dust (and sometimes mold) and this can be problematic for allergy sufferers. If you can’t remove the carpet in your home or apartment, there are still things that you can do to reduce the allergens.

If you have to keep the carpet, vacuum frequently with a HEPA filter to trap the allergens and dust. You can also deep clean your carpet several times a year to remove even more dust and allergens. You can also purchase allergen reducers that can be applied to your carpet regularly.

Dust Top to Bottom

To keep allergens and dust at bay inside of your home, dust a couple of times each week. When you are dusting, make sure that you start at the top of each room. Start with ceilings, window sills, door frames, and then work your way down to the baseboards and floors.

When you are dusting, use microfiber cloths that will grab and hold on to the dust. This way you don’t have to worry about spreading it around. Depending on the area you are cleaning, they work great dry or used wet. And when you are all done dusting, pull out your vacuum or mop and remove it from the floor.

If you are an allergy sufferer like me, you may want to check out Best Cleaning Products for Allergy Sufferers To Use.

Use your Air Conditioning

It can be tempting to throw your windows open wide on a beautiful spring day. But that’s a great way to let lots of pollen, dust, and other allergens into your home. Instead, use your air conditioner to keep your home’s temperature comfortable and allergen-free.

Make sure that you change your air filter regularly so that it can work as effectively as possible. You will want to change them about once a month if you have a window unit. If you have central air you will want to change your filter every three months.

Clean your Mattress, Pillows, and Bedding

Your mattress, pillows, and bedding can be home to lots of dust, dander, dust mites, and dead skin cells. This can be a nightmare for allergy sufferers hoping for a good night’s sleep. Wash your bedding and pillows in hot water regularly to remove dust mites. It is recommended for allergy sufferers to wash all fabric at least once a week.

For your mattress, you can remove dust mites by vacuuming the mattress itself. You may also want to consider placing a protective dust cover on your mattress and pillows to further reduce allergens.

Houseplants

We all love a good houseplant, especially when we know they are great at purifying the air we breathe. Some house plants, however, require their soil to be wet and bogging to grow. These include some tropical plants (i.e. venus fly traps, umbrella palms). With this said, plants can promote mold growth and collect dust.

You will need to wipe off leaves regularly and you may want to experiment with different types of houseplants in your home to see what works best in your home.