Spring-Clean Your Home and Prevent Hay Fever from Coming In

Do you find yourself constantly sneezing at home? Do you get watery eyes and a runny nose often? Don’t worry – there’s no need to run to the nearest hospital just yet.

The fact is that spring in Australia can easily trigger allergies and make it harder for you to do day-to-day tasks – even in the comfort of your own home.

It’s a good thing there are ways to minimise this problem. Here’s how to clean your home to limit hay fever.

Close the Windows and Wear a Mask

Allergens blown in by the wind can make your spring cleaning futile. Try closing the windows during the sweep so you only have to deal with the ones already inside the house. Wear a mask before starting – you don’t want to further trigger a frustrating set of sneezing while going through the house.

Clean Out the Air Conditioner Filter

The filter of the air conditioner may be packed with dust by now if you haven’t been cleaning it consistently. You need to make sure that it’s clean and clear to guarantee the movement of allergen-free air around the room.

You may not realise it but an air conditioner can easily spread out the dust in your home and make things worse. If you have a fan, make sure to clean it out as well.

Start from the Top

A good technique when spring cleaning is starting from the top and working your way downwards. For example, wipe the top of the fridge, the kitchen cabinets, the closet, and so on. Why the top? Well, these are often the “missed” spots in the home.

Plus, you don’t want to perfectly clean all the eye-level areas of the home only to have dust drift down from the higher areas. By addressing the top first, you can be sure that any drifters will be sucked out with a bottom clean.

Invest in Microfiber Cloths

Purchase microfiber cloths and make sure you’ve dampened them before wiping dusty areas in the home. You want to minimise the chances of the dust spreading out in the air – a wet microfiber cloth is more likely to grab the dirt so you can wash it out later.

Maintain Humidifier Settings

Minimise mold growth and dust mites by maintaining humidity at 50 percent or less. A dehumidifier can work wonders for the home – especially when coupled with a humidity meter.  Make sure the dehumidifier itself is consistently cleaned to guarantee that it doesn’t become the source of the problem.

Reduce Clutter in your Home

Fewer objects in the home means there are fewer places where dust can settle and accumulate. Spring is often the best time to declutter as you assess what’s needed and what items are no longer necessary in your home. With less stuff needing cleaning, you can finish your anti-allergies sweep quickly and sit back to enjoy the changing weather.

Change Sheets Often

You’ll notice that most of the sneezing happens as soon as you wake up. This is because when you wake up, you breathe in the pathogens and allergens that cause the problem. A good way of minimising this is by keeping your sheets clean and fresh.

Most people like to change their sheets at least once a week and wash it with hot water to remove dust mites. It would be best to have several sets of sheets so changing from one to the next is easier.

Speaking of Sheets – Clean the Mattress

Even with sheets changed daily, dust mites can burrow into the mattress and still be a cause of problems in the morning. To solve this, you can steam clean your mattress to kill off the mites and any droppings they might leave on the surface.

If you have no steam cleaner, try sprinkling some baking soda on the surface of the metres and leaving there for a few hours. This will help kill the dust mites and you can just vacuum them out later.

Of course, those are just ways to handle the problem. If the hay fever continues, chances are you’re going to need some deep cleaning for the home to really remove pathogens. Try hiring professional cleaners once for a deep clean and simply maintain this for the rest of the year.

The post Spring-Clean Your Home and Prevent Hay Fever from Coming In appeared first on Health Constitution.

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