Everyone needs a clean, healthy home to live in. Whether you own or rent, your home should be maintained in a way that shouldn’t affect your health. If you don’t keep your home clean, you and your family members could experience allergic reactions or serious medical complications.
With that in mind, you have to keep your home clean to reduce known allergens and provide a safe environment for your family. Other times, a more intense effort may be required on your end to minimize allergen exposure and guarantee the safest, healthiest environment for your family. These measures oftentimes involve getting rid of the sources such as animal dander and even investing in air filtration systems.
If you want to clean up your house and make it a safer environment, consider these tips for maintaining a healthy and allergen-free home:
1. Eliminate Molds
Mold and mildew thrive in damp areas like your restroom and cellars. Their spores could also float around your home like pollen, triggering allergic reactions.
To minimize such allergens in your home, you can contact service providers that remove molds and other bacteria at home. You can check out http://www.puremaintenanceofwashington.com/ or websites of other providers to discover other less invasive methods of removing household molds.
What you can do to combat mold yourself is to replace your wallpapers with tiles or painting the walls with mold-resistant paint—that is, after you remove the mold, of course. Also, don’t forget to scrub mold off your bathroom walls and surfaces and replace moldy shower curtains. Lastly, if you have carpeted floors, check if there are molds. If there are, be sure to replace your carpets.
2. Invest In An Air Purifier
Having the ideal level of humidity in your home is essential. This is because animal dander and other allergens are more likely to spread with less moisture. Therefore, invest in humidifiers or dehumidifiers to control your house’s humidity levels. In addition, in the summer, use air conditioners in preventing mold and dust mites.
3. Beware Of Products With Harsh Chemicals
To avoid aggravating certain health problems, you’d be doing yourself a favor if you avoid using chemical-based cleaners and pesticides. Rather, use essential oils, plant-based solutions, or regular soap to maintain clean and healthy indoor air. Toxic chemicals in chemical-based solutions are thought to be linked to countless medical issues, especially respiratory problems.
4. Switch To Soy Candles
If you’ve been using petroleum-based paraffin candles to illuminate some parts of your home, you might be risking your and your family’s health. Such scented candles are believed to produce possibly dangerous compounds, which could lead to health problems like cancer, asthma, and allergies. With this in mind, switching to homemade vegetable-based candles, such as soy candles, may be the best option. Not only are soy candles environmentally friendly, but you’d also be supporting local artisans selling these products.
5. Get Rid Of Food Full Of Empty Calories
Part of a healthy home is leading a healthy lifestyle, which means cleaning out your pantry of foods that doesn’t provide nutritional benefits. If you don’t, you might be tempted to eat them. Reboot your diet by cleaning out those cabinets filled with sugary snacks and processed junk foods. Replace those unhealthy foods once and for all, and start your journey toward a healthier life.
6. Eliminate Dust
Constant cleaning to get rid of dust is one of the most effective techniques to eliminate indoor allergens. This is because dust mites flourish in the dust. Inside your home, they’re one of the most prevalent triggers for asthma and other allergic reactions.
With that in mind, be sure to dust and vacuum often. To avoid spreading dust while dusting, use a moistened or treated rag to catch the dust. And to protect yourself while you’re cleaning your home, wear a face mask as you clean.
7. Grow A Garden Or Have House Plants
It’s said that people who live in places with a greener space tend to be happier and healthier. Thus, plant trees around your property or start a small garden in your balcony.
Similarly, you can have indoor plants too. They can serve as your natural purifiers at home, as they improve the ambiance and provide something fresh to look at in your living space. This is because plants can filter the air and trap toxins in their soil through photosynthesis. Besides that, plants can also increase humidity inside your home by also producing moisture in the air.
8. Filter The Water From Your Tap
Are you used to drinking water directly from your sink? If so, it might be best to get a water filter to make certain that the water you drink isn’t contaminated. Furthermore, even if your local water provider filter tap water, toxins such as lead, E. coli, chlorine, and other contaminants could still negatively affect your water supply. Thus, installing a filter could help make your tap water cleaner and safer to drink.
9. Declutter Your Space
Apparently, having more clutter means providing more safe places for allergens and dust to thrive in your house. Therefore, you must get rid of items you don’t need that’s cluttering your space. For one, you could sell your used but still usable items online or through a garage sale. Alternatively, you could give away items such as appliances to charitable institutions. Not only will you be getting rid of clutter in your house, but you’d also make some easy cash or help those in need.
10. Reduce Pet Dander
Do you have any pets at home? Some folks are allergic to the proteins found in your pets’ saliva, urine, and dead skin cells. Such allergens might get airborne and cause severe symptoms in people who are allergic to them. Therefore, make efforts to regularly vacuum your floors. Also, don’t forget to wash your pet frequently to help reduce animal dander. Aside from that, try training your pets to keep out of your bedrooms and off your furniture.
11. Control Bugs And Pests
Of course, the thought of bugs and pests in your home may already bother, but that’s a reality you’ll have to consider if you don’t keep your home clean. While pests are known to spread germs and bacteria, the proteins found in their droppings are said to trigger allergic reactions in some people.
If you notice pests in your house, try doing the following:
- Set Up Traps To Catch Them: Compared to chemical insecticides, physical traps won’t aggravate asthma and other allergies.
- Consider Hiring An Exterminator: Of course, you can only eliminate the pests you could see, but professional exterminators know where these pests lay their eggs and, thus, know how effectively clean your home so these pests don’t keep coming back.
- Keep Food In Airtight Containers: Not only will you keep them away from pests, you’ll keep your food fresh and safe from bacteria.
- Secure Garbage Bins: All food wastes should be disposed of immediately in an enclosed bin. That way, pests won’t have a place to breed or lay their eggs.
- Clean Regularly: Cleaning your house thoroughly and on a regular basis should be on top of your daily chores.
Conclusion
A clean home means a healthy home. Allergies can be unpleasant, but you don’t have to endure them. Try these easy tips for keeping your home clean and protecting your family from harmful allergens.