If you experience seasonal or chronic allergies, then keeping the indoor air of your home free of allergens is essential. There are multiple ways to make sure that the quality of the air inside your home is cleaner.
Tip 1: Avoid Having Clutter in Your Home
With less clutter in your home, there are fewer surfaces where dust can collect. Rather than having a home that is filled with bookshelves that are places to display photographs, books and figurines, have a home that has only a few decorative items. If you need to have storage for anything, then look for cupboards that have doors that keep the dust away from the items that are stored inside. Make sure to keep the closets of your home organized, and also, use plastic totes to store items such as holiday decorations.
Tip 2: Use a Wet Dusting Method
Avoid using a dry cloth or paper towel for dusting furniture or other items in your home. It is better to use a wet cloth that holds the dust so that it doesn’t fly through the air of your home. Make sure to rinse out the cloth frequently to keep the dust from dropping onto other surfaces. Don’t forget to dust areas such as the top of the doorframes or the baseboards at the bottom of the walls. If you have a problem reaching these items, then use a string mop to wash these surfaces.
Tip 3: Avoid Having Carpeting
If you have severe allergies, then you should avoid having carpeting in your home. Carpets and the underlying padding absorb a lot of dirt that can make you cough and sneeze, but if you have bare floors or throw rugs, then you can wash the items easily. When you can’t remove the carpeting in a rental home or an apartment, you should have a high-quality vacuum cleaner that uses a high-efficiency particulate air filtering system.
Tip 4: Don’t Have Fabric Draperies or Curtains
When you have fabric curtains or draperies, the items are filled with pollen and other debris that floats through the window screens or around the edges of the windowpanes. By having window blinds instead, you can use a wet cloth or special sponge device to clean the slats of the window blinds to keep the items clean.
Tip 5: Have Certain Types of Houseplants
Certain types of houseplants are natural air cleaners, and you can have these plants located in various areas of your home. Some of the most popular houseplants for air purification include:
- Aloe vera
- Spider plant
- Chrysanthemum
- Snake plant
- English ivy
Tip 6: Use Essential Oils
Invest in an electric diffuser for your home so that you can use essential oils to purify the air inside your home. You must mix a few drops of essential oil and a carrier oil in the diffuser’s tank so that it will emit a steady stream of fragrance into the air. Here are some of the essential oil fragrances that are recommended for cleaning the air inside your home:
- Eucalyptus
- Lavender
- Cloves
- Cinnamon
- Lemon
Change Air Filters in Air Conditioners and Furnaces
Make sure to change the air filter in your home’s furnace and air conditioner at least once a month to keep pollen and dust from entering your home’s venting system.