How to Prep Your Home for Allergy Season

Want to know how to prep your home for allergy season? While I’m always very excited about the arrival of spring along with the beautiful sunshiny weather, there is one thing I’ve never looked forward to every year… the dreaded allergy season. Ugh, it can be the worst! The amount of pollen flying rampant in the air causes irritating side effects that can sometimes be awful.

Spring allergies could include an itchy, runny nose, watering eyes, uncontrollable sneezing, and a scratchy throat. This can be frustration for even the strongest of people. While we’re probably a few months away from those high pollen levels and related allergy triggers, it isn’t too early to start planning your defense against high pollen counts. They can come from the various types of pollen like grass pollen from your lawn and tree pollens before blossom time. Now may be one of the best times to implement your plans!

Prep Your Home For Allergy Season

But while these negative symptoms may seem completely unavoidable, I have some good news for you! Besides taking allergy medications frequently throughout the season, there are several other things that you could be doing around your house to help keep it allergy-free. That’s right! Here’s how to prepare your home for the upcoming allergy season.

Take Your Shoes Off

Instead of tracking in countless allergens across the floor of your home, make it a point to have your family take off their shoes at the door before heading inside. Or you could even take it a step further and keep everyone’s shoes in their cubbyholes out in the garage so there’s even less risk of allergens making their way inside. Forget Your 72-Hour Bug-Out Bag You Need More.

Over the years, some of our homes had what we called a “mud room” between the garage and the rest of the house. We asked our kids to remove their coats, hats, boots, scarves, gloves, etc. in that room. It stopped the occasional mud marks on the carpet and hardwood floors and kept those allergens at bay. It also kept the house better organized since I didn’t see all those items left on kitchen chairs, couches, or countertops or dropped on the entry floor.

Keep Your Windows Closed

As tempting as it might be to keep your windows open on a nice warm day during the spring so you can get a refreshing breeze in the house, I’d strongly encourage you not to. While that nice breeze may feel incredible on windy days and refreshing after being cooped up and stuffy all winter, you’d also welcome pollens and other allergens to your home.

But if you refuse this advice, at the very least, place tight screens outside or wedge air filters in your windows to help limit the number of allergens that find their way into your home. 12 Ways to Reuse Broken Household Items

Cut the Clutter

Getting rid of clutter in your home has several advantages besides having a neat and orderly home. Not only does decluttering make you feel better physically and emotionally, but it also reduces the number of objects that dust and allergens can cling to. And that’s a pretty big deal! How to Declutter Your Home. I have to confess, I hate dusting. I wish I had loved dusting, but this is why I have very few knick-knacks. There, I said it. LOL! Mark’s a good sport when it comes to dusting, vacuuming carpeting, and mopping the wood floors.

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Dust and Vacuum Often

Keeping up with the dusting and vacuuming in your home is always a good idea, but it’s even more critical during the allergy season. This helps eliminate any dust and dirt that may have accumulated throughout your home from being inside all winter. But make sure to use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter if possible to capture those tiny particles of dander and pollen that can be found in hard-to-reach places!

Also, use a damp or microfiber cloth for dusting so you aren’t just spreading dust particles everywhere. Saharan Dust Storm: Everything You Need to Know.

Change Your Air Filters Regularly

The air quality in your home is essential, regardless of whether it’s allergy season or not. Why’s that? Because your family’s health could be at stake if you don’t keep up with changing out your home’s air filter regularly. A clean air filter has a much better chance of trapping any airborne particles or allergens before they reach you. Changing your home’s air filter monthly is best if you’re prone to allergies, but at least every 2 to 3 months.

There is some debate about making your HVAC efficient when it comes to the type of air filters you use. Some more expensive filters are rated as high-efficiency particulate air filters and pull all kinds of junk out of the air in your home. If you aren’t as prone to allergies, some cheaper filters may do the trick and actually allow more airflow. If you are treated by an allergist, get some input from them about the quality of air filter to install.

Your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system runs more efficiently if serviced each year. Use HVAC filters that fit your needs based on how clean you want the air. The highest-rated filters do a great job, but they can be more costly to replace. Higher-rated ones also need to be changed more often since they collect more stuff during filtering.

Check and Clean Air Ducts

If possible, have your air furnace ducts cleaned out professionally occasionally. You would be surprised how much junk gets built up in them while a home is built, let alone when your home is 20 years old. We had ours cleaned a few years ago, and while the workers were at it, they ensured all the connections were still intact, particularly where the duct meets the air return and the registers on the floor or ceiling. This is to ensure no air is escaping through leaks in the system.

If you have old radiators or electrical radiant heat, dust them off, or use the blower feature in your vacuum to be sure areas that collect dust and dirt are cleared.

Change Your Clothes After Being Outside

A lot of people don’t give it much thought, but after spending time outside, it’s best to change out of the clothes you were wearing immediately the moment you come inside. Because God only knows how much pollen has attached to your clothing in the meantime, and if you sit down in a chair or sprawl out on the upholstery sofa, it’s game over. If you have the time, shower to get any allergens off you and change into something else. 12 Quick & Easy Tips for Washing Clothes. This is particularly important if you’ve been out working in the yard, pruning trees and bushes, and mowing the lawn.

Wash Your Bedding Weekly 

Are you someone who suffers from allergies and can’t seem to catch a break? As strange as it may seem, the answer to your problem may be found in your bed. We spend a lot of time in our beds, and those microscopic allergens that you and I can’t see may be doing the same thing. They can thrive in places like your pillowcases, bed mattresses, box springs, the top quilts, and on your sheets. This is why you should wash your bedding in hot water during the allergy season at least once a week. Learn How To Wash Clothes During An Emergency.

Do you love clean sheets as much as I do? We change ours every Friday, without fail. If I had more strength, I would wash them twice a week, but once a week is still awesome!

From time to time, you should also try to shake the dust and dirt that have settled on the mattress and box springs. Once the sheets and mattress cover are removed, take a bat, tennis racquet, or other stiff item and beat the surface to loosen what may have accumulated. Then, you can take a vacuum to the surface to remove unwanted debris.

While you’re busy cleaning, pay attention to the curtains in all the rooms. Depending on the type of fabric, they can be like a magnet when it comes to allergens and dust. Hopefully, you have some curtains that can be washed at home, but you probably have some that will need special treatment at the local dry cleaners. I’d suggest you do the washing and dry cleaning at least once each year.

Keep Your Bathroom Free From Mold

If not properly cleaned, your bathroom can become a breeding ground for mold and mildew, even more so if you live in an area with high humidity levels. I’ve even heard alarming stories of mushrooms growing in people’s bathrooms. Disgusting! That’s because when the shower is used, it creates a warm and humid environment that leads to the growth of these types of allergens.

So, wipe away water from your tub and walls after each shower. Also, keep the exhaust fan running or the window open for about 20 minutes to help reduce any additional moisture in the air. How To Love Cleaning Bathrooms

With all the stuff being washed down the drain, sinks can be a catchall for some pretty nasty stuff. Schedule time to pull out the drain stopper occasionally and clean out any captured hair and other goodies that cling there.

Wear a Mask While Cleaning

If you love to get dirty when it comes to cleaning around the house or doing yard work, I highly recommend that you consider wearing a mask when doing any of these tasks. Doing so will help keep your mouth, nose, and even eyes from being exposed to dust or pollen particles in the air.

It’s also best to leave your home for a few hours after cleaning because it will limit your exposure to the dust and allergens in the air. The Pros and Cons of Wearing a Mask Long-Term This is especially true if you are subject to hay fever or asthma. I still feel like those masks are like wearing a diaper on my face, but what do I know?

If you feel you are always putting your immune system to the test, you may want to visit an immunology specialist. It could be that you’d be helped with some allergy shots or other treatments based on various tests they can administer.

Get a Dehumidifier and/or Air Purifier

When your home gets humid, allergens are more likely to creep in and make their presence felt. One of my best tips concerning your home and allergies is to purchase a dehumidifier. Trust me, it’s an investment that will make a difference in your home. To put it bluntly, mold, allergens, and other air particles won’t stand a chance, and that’s the point.

Some people find that air purifiers also add another level of air cleaning and purifying that proves helpful. Consider putting one in the room(s) you spend the most time, like your bedroom and kitchen. They also have filters that need to be consistently changed to improve efficiency.

What else can cause allergies?

Pets, dust mites, pollen count, carpet, your mattress, pillows, pet dander, throw rugs, poor indoor air quality, and so much more. Allergies can cause you to have a stuffy nose, cough, inflammation, nasal congestion, and watery eyes that may require nasal sprays and/or eye drops. Sometimes, you must take antihistamines to ensure the allergies stay at bay! The proper medications can help you manage your allergy symptoms.

You may be affected by the smoke that comes from fireplaces. Make sure you clean the flue each year so the updraft effect works as designed. It also reduces the risk of a chimney fire.

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Final Word

Allergy season may be well just around the corner, but that doesn’t mean your family must suffer through it this year! By implementing some of these preventable measures around your home, you’ll be well on your way to having an allergy-free spring and summer. Usually, your local weather reports will alert you through forecasts of pollen count levels. Monitor those reports and respond accordingly. Can you think of other helpful tips to help someone battle allergies at home? I’d love to hear from you! May God Bless this world, Linda

Copyright Images: Clean Sheets AdobeStock_470074388 by Atlas, Seasonal Allergy AdobeStock_279030542 By Amarievikka