After a long, cold winter, few things can seem better than the arrival of warm, sunny spring weather. That is, unless you suffer from allergies. Springtime is a beautiful time of year, but it’s also when many people end up feeling absolutely miserable because of all the pollen and other allergens in the air. While it might sound like a great idea to open up those vinyl replacement windows and let some fresh air in, unfortunately, that also means letting in airborne allergens and once they get in, they can try to make themselves at home.
If you tend to suffer from allergies around this time of year, you don’t necessarily need to keep your windows shut all spring long. Pollen levels tend to be at their peak between 5:00 AM and 10:00 AM, so you might be able to enjoy some fresh air later in the day. You’ll also want to take some extra steps to make sure that any allergens that get into your home don’t cause any problems for you.
Change Air Filters Regularly
One of the best ways to keep airborne allergens under control is by making sure you change the filters on your home’s furnace or air conditioner about every 90 days. The longer an air filter stays in place, the more dust and debris it collects. When an air filter gets too full, it won’t be able to contain allergens as well, so they’ll just keep circulating in the air around your home.
Start Dusting From the Top
When you dust your home, it can be very easy to forget about dusting your ceiling fans since they’re not at eye level. Or in some cases, you might remember to dust your ceiling fan, but not until after you’ve already dusted everything else underneath it. When you suffer from allergies, your ceiling fan is actually one of the best places to start dusting. Dust and other allergens love to settle on ceiling fans and the longer you put off dealing with it, the more time allergens have to accumulate. When you dust, make sure you use something like a cloth rag or a disposable cloth instead of a feather duster. Cloths will help collect the dust while feather dusters will only kick dust back up into the air.
Vacuum Thoroughly
When you have allergies, you’ll definitely want to keep up with your vacuuming to get rid of allergens that settle into your carpet. Even if you don’t have carpet in your home, a vacuum cleaner can still be very helpful since the attachments that come with it can help you get dust that settles into very hard to reach areas like behind the refrigerator or the area where your wall meets your floor. Don’t forget to use your vacuum cleaner attachments to clean curtains and any fabric-covered furniture like couches and recliners!
Don’t Forget Your Bed
Anything made of fabric is a great place for dust and other allergens to settle and beds have a lot of fabric. Not only do you have sheets, comforters, and pillows, most mattresses also have a cloth cover. Be sure to wash your bedding weekly and use your vacuum cleaner and its attachments to clean your mattress. Mattresses can be a veritable breeding ground for dust mites since so many people completely forget to ever clean their mattresses.
Keep Your Closet Doors Closed
Since so many allergens love to settle on fabrics, your closet can be very attractive to allergens. You definitely don’t want to give allergens free access to the clothes you wear, so be sure to keep your closet doors shut as much as possible this time of year.
Trying to keep allergens out of your home might seem like a lot of work, but when you suffer from allergies, but it sure can help make springtime a lot more comfortable!
