If you’re one of the 50 million people in the United States that suffer from allergies, you most likely have been prepping for Spring, when allergy symptoms can be at their worst. Keeping your home clean and free of irritants is a necessity, but it’s important to pay attention to how you’re choosing to clean — it turns out some of the most common ways to clean your home can actually trigger your allergies or make them worse.
How could cleaning possibly make your allergies worse? The answer lies in how certain cleaning methods affect your indoor air quality. Indoor air quality is affected by a variety of factors, but specific ones — such as dust, chemicals (VOCs), and humidity — have been known to make your allergies significantly worse.
While many cleaning methods are effective at alleviating certain allergies, they’re equally effective at triggering others, simply because they’re harming your indoor air quality. To help keep you healthy this allergy season, we’ve put together a list of the most common allergy-causing cleaning methods, and the small changes you can make so your air quality isn’t affected:
While vacuuming is great for keeping out any pollen you may have dragged into the house, the act of vacuuming itself can cause your allergies to spike. When you vacuum, dust and mold that has settled in your carpet will be uprooted and blown around your house — and can take more than two hours to settle back down. Try to wear a mask when you vacuum, and look into buying vacuums with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter built in to catch fine dust and mold spores.
You may be tempted to scrub your entire house at the first sign of a sneeze, but pay attention to the products you are using to disinfect. Many common household cleaners contain VOCs--chemicals that evaporate into your air that can cause eczema flare-ups, allergies, asthma, and headaches. This is especially true for scented cleansers and detergents. Check the ingredients list on your cleaning products, or opt for all-natural cleaning techniques.
Dusting
Dusting is incredibly helpful for reducing allergies. How you choose to dust, however, will determine how effective the dusting is. Avoid using dry dusters, because they’ll spread dust into your air instead of eliminating it. Instead, use a damp cloth to trap your dust on the spot.
Washing Rugs and Carpets
If you shampoo your carpets to get rid of pet dander and other irritants, do so with caution. Damp carpets are a breeding ground for dust mites and mold growth. Take extra steps to make sure your carpets are thoroughly dried after a wash.
Take Control of Your Indoor Air Quality
Awair tracks chemicals and toxins in your space and can help you understand what you're reacting to in your environment. To learn how to use Awair to get to the bottom of your allergy triggers, follow the link below.
Oddly enough, allergy symptoms often worsen during or immediately after vacuuming, sweeping and dusting. The process of cleaning can stir up dust particles, making them easier to inhale. People with dust mite allergies often suffer the most inside their homes or in other people's homes.
VOCs and other chemicals released when using cleaning supplies contribute to chronic respiratory problems, allergic reactions and headaches. Studies are underway to assess how these chemicals affect people who have asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
As our hygiene and cleanliness improves it seems we become more susceptible to allergies. It's as if our immune system is yearning for action, but having no enemies in the form of infectious agents or parasites to battle, it targets harmless substances present in the environment. This constitutes an allergic reaction.
Those lucky people who have never checked the pollen forecast may be able to get away with letting housework slide. If you have allergies, however, it's important to stay on top of your cleaning so that your home isn't a trigger zone. Allergy sufferers should aim to clean throughout the week.
Weather changes can affect pollen levels, which in turn affect allergy symptoms. With warmer temperatures, comes an increase in spring pollen levels. Changes in air pressure also have an effect, as the amount of pollen that moves from the upper to the lower atmosphere varies based on air pressure.
Oddly enough, allergy symptoms often worsen during or immediately after vacuuming, sweeping and dusting. The process of cleaning can stir up dust particles, making them easier to inhale. People with dust mite allergies often suffer the most inside their homes or in other people's homes.
It's the idea that being overly clean can prevent children from getting exposed to enough germs. As a result, children's immune systems may not develop properly, leading to asthma and allergies. However, experts say good personal hygiene isn't what's causing allergies and asthma.
Dust mites, mold, and other allergens can thrive in a cluttered environment, making breathing difficult for people with asthma or allergies. In severe cases, exposure to these triggers can lead to an asthma attack or the development of an allergy.
Spray away: Use Lysol® Disinfectant Spray on surfaces around your house to get rid of dust mite debris and other allergens. Brush and shampoo your furry friends regularly: Every time your dog or cat enters the house from the outdoors, try and run a brush through their hair a few times first.
Many people with allergies stay indoors when pollen and mold is high. But dust mites, pet dander and even co*ckroaches can cause problems indoors. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends three ways you can improve indoor air quality: Control your contact with indoor airborne allergens.
Researchers predict these aren't outlier years, pointing to climate change as responsible for worsening allergy season. This past winter was the warmest on record across the continental U.S. Fewer days below freezing meant plants were able to bloom earlier and longer.
Buyer Beware. Some air cleaners can actually irritate your allergies, not help them. Ionic electrostatic room cleaners release ions, which force particles to attach to walls or surfaces. But they don't remove all the particles from the air, and the ozone that is produced is a known irritant.
Older adults tend to have more chronic conditions and experience a decline in the functioning of several organs, both of which can heighten an allergic response. Aging can potentially worsen any allergy, including hypersensitivities to food, medications, insect bites, and pollen.
Signs and symptoms of contact dermatitis vary widely and may include: An itchy rash. Leathery patches that are darker than usual (hyperpigmented), typically on brown or Black skin. Dry, cracked, scaly skin, typically on white skin.
Introduction: My name is Greg O'Connell, I am a delightful, colorful, talented, kind, lively, modern, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
