Allergies? 5 Common Allergens Found Inside The Home And How You Can Remove Them
If you have allergies, it's a good idea to clean your home frequently. Common allergens can build up on the surfaces inside your home, especially on your carpet. They'll be released into the air when you touch them or walk over them, and this can worsen your allergy symptoms when you breathe them in. Below, you'll learn about how to successfully clean up five common allergens inside your home.
1. Dust Mites
Dust mites are pests that eat dead skin cells, which means they're commonly found in bed linens. Some people are allergic to them. Thankfully, it's pretty easy to control them. Make sure you wash your sheets, blankets, and pillow covers every week with hot water, which will kill all of the dust mites and remove the dead skin cells that provide them with food. Since you can't wash your pillows or your mattress easily, buy a plastic cover to encase them in — the cover will prevent dead mites from living there.
2. Mold
Some mold (like black mold) can cause respiratory illness in people who aren't even allergic to mold. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to remove as well. The best way is to buy a mold-killing biocide spray from a home improvement store and spray that on any patches of mold that you find. You'll also need to reduce moisture in your home in order to prevent mold from coming back. For example, you may need to improve ventilation in your bathroom by installing an exhaust fan or repair a pipe or plumbing fixture that's slowly leaking.
3. Pet Dander
Pet dander is the dead skin cells and hair that's shed by animals, and it's a common allergen that can get everywhere in your home. You can cut down on the amount of pet dander in your home by vacuuming twice a week. You'll need to vacuum both the floors in your home and the furniture. The floor vacuum and hand vacuum that you use need to have HEPA filters, since the holes in a HEPA filter are tiny enough to trap the pet dander inside the vacuum bag. Using a vacuum without a HEPA filter will simply result in the pet dander being released into the air as you vacuum it up, which means that you'll just spread it around your home.
4. Pollen
Pollen is another common allergen that you can reduce by vacuuming your home regularly. It's also a good idea to remove your shoes as soon as you step in the front door, since pollen can collect on your shoes. Removing your shoes will prevent you from tracking pollen on your carpets when you walk around your home. If you have a severe pollen allergy, you may need to change your clothes as well, as pollen will collect on your clothes when you're outside.
5. Chemicals
If you're sensitive to chemicals, make sure that all of the cleaning and laundry products that you use are natural. They should have a few extra ingredients, and they should be unscented or have a very faint scent. Switching your cleaning products will reduce the amount of harsh chemicals floating around the air and landing on the surfaces inside your home.
By reducing the number of allergens in your home, you'll breathe easier and be less congested. If you don't have time for such frequent cleaning, it's a good idea to call a professional house cleaning service. If you have allergies, you should also try to find a house cleaning service that uses natural cleaning products, as this will help you avoid being exposed to harsh chemicals that may worsen your allergy symptoms.
Reach out to a company like Karol's Cleaning Services to find out more.