How to Prepare Your Home for Allergy Season

Spring has arrived, which means season allergies will be going into full effect soon. But there are ways to protect yourself and mitigate allergy symptoms. Jay Ayers, Indoor Air Quality Product Manager at Trane has provided some great tips for making sure your home is prepared for allergy season.

Remove Clothes and Shoes Immediately After Coming Indoors
While you may not see it physically on your clothes, pollen easily attaches to you and your pets. Change into something new when you come inside to avoid spreading pollen on furniture, and wipe down your pet to eliminate pollen getting stuck on fur.

Wash Clothing and Bedding Once a Week
Pollen travels by air, so was bedding once a week to keep pollutants from settling in. Keep in mind that the washing machine must reach 130 degrees in order to kill pollutants, dust mites, and their eggs.

Use a Clothes Dryer, Not an Outdoor Line
Avoid line drying your clothes and bedding outside when the pollen count is high; it will defeat the purpose of cleaning your clothes.

Keep Doors and Windows Shut
While we want to bring in fresh air after being cooped up all winter, opening doors and windows invite pollen and allergens to spread across a home. It’s also beneficial to install an air cleaning system that improves your home’s air quality like the Trane CleanEffects Whole-Home Air Filtration System. This patented system uses revolutionary technology to remove up to 99.98 percent of airborne particles from the air we breathe at home by reducing harmful bacteria and allergens, like pollen, dust, pet hair, tobacco smoke, bacteria and more.

Take Allergy Medicine Before Going Outside
Allergy medicine works best when taken before leaving your home. This allows medicine to prevent your body from releasing histamine and other chemicals that cause symptoms.

Dust and Vacuum on a Regular Basis
Incorporating this into your routine several times a week will help remove allergens and pollens.

Place Certified Bedding on all Mattress and Pillows
Certified hypoallergenic and allergy free bedding will keep allergens from seeping in. Make sure the bedding you buy fully encases the entire bed and pillows so that no pollutants can make themselves at home.

Change Your Bedtime Routine
Showering at night can help reduce allergy symptoms. Allergens from the day that stick to your hair and face will be washed off and not transferred to your pillows or bedding.

Maintain Your Garden
Keeping your lawn and garden trimmed and pruned throughout spring will stop the longer blades from holding as much pollen from the trees and flowers.

Educate Yourself
Familiarize yourself with the weather. Learn the best times of the day to be outside, ideally when pollen count is at its lowest (it’s usually at its worst first-thing in the morning!).

 

How to Prepare Your Home for Allergy Season was first posted on http://charlesandhudson.com