For lots of people, being at home without stress or worry is an epic feeling. For those who fall sick, they’d rather stay at home until they’re better. But what happens if your home is actually the cause of your sickness? As crazy as it sounds, quite a lot of people end up sick due to allergies from the home environment. For instance, a person who’s allergic to dust can easily end up sick at home. Why? It’s almost impossible to keep the house dust-free.
Seeing as there’s really no place like home, it’s important that your home is maintained in such a way that allergic materials won’t run rampant. Whether you’re allergic to dust, pets, mold and mildew, pollens, cobwebs, and the likes, you can easily turn your home into a safe haven from allergic materials. Here are 10 ways to allergy-proof your home:
Declutter and Detoxify Your Home
A lot of times, our homes are filled with stuff that we rarely use. And when these things are piled up in a corner or even scattered around, they end up being the breeding ground of unhealthy allergic materials such as mold, dust, and cobwebs. So, the first step to allergy-proof your house is to declutter all the rarely used items and clean them up. Rarely used items should either be sold or given out, and the ones that are still important should be properly stored.
Invest in Proper Storage
Sometimes, the issue with having lots of stuff at home is that we fail to manage/store them properly. What’s more? A lot of times, we hardly take care of our basement or storage closet. For some, it’s all about dumping stuff in the storage closet or basement. Poor storage management leaves your home open to allergic materials. So, it’s important to periodically clean your basement and storage closet at least once a week. Besides this, you can spend at least a Saturday in the month to clear out your storage for thorough cleaning.
Fight Off Mold Buildups
Molds are one of the most stubborn allergic materials found in homes. Often, you’ll find molds building up in dark, damp areas such as the corners of storage boxes, beneath the kitchen sink, and generally anywhere with a potential water leak. Your best bet to fight off mold would be to water-proof your house to avoid leaks within the walls, and also clean water outlets such as the kitchen sink, bathroom taps, and pipes around the house. Clean out the molds you can see, and periodically inspect hard-to-reach places.
Manage Water Properly
Water leaks and stagnant water within the house are the right breeding ground for allergic materials and actual disease carriers like mosquitoes. While you may be careful enough to turn off water taps after use, there are times when the taps aren’t properly closed, and water gradually leaks out. Often, this results in rusting or buildup of contaminated materials at the tip of the tap, and also areas when water constantly drips on. To reduce water leaks, turn off your water supply from the main control especially at night or when you’re leaving the house. Periodically clean your water taps, and the surrounding areas, and always clear out stagnant water.
Change Your Vacuum Cleaner
If you’ve been using your vacuum cleaner for a long, it’s about time you get a new one or change the vacuum bag and filters. After prolonged use, vacuum cleaners tend to accumulate dust that often makes it difficult to vacuum properly. You often end up with the vacuum cleaner spewing more dust than it’s actually cleaning. So, apart from cleaning up your vacuum cleaner after use to clear off residual dust, you can change the vacuum bag and filters with new ones.
Manage Your Kids’ Stuff
Kids are playful and easily forgetful. Oftentimes, their rooms are really messy, and if care’s not taken they’ll mess up the living area with their toys and gadgets scattered all around. If your kids are too young to clean up after themselves, it’s up to you to clean up after them. Periodically wash their stuffed toys, and store all their stuff in a clean and dry place. Teach them early to clean up and store their toys after playing. You can also control how many toys they own or play with per time to help keep the house clean.
Periodically Wash Bedspread, Towels, and Other Clothes With Hot Water
It’s easy to wash clothes regularly and forget the bedspreads, towels, and the like. Why? You don’t use them as often as your regular clothes. But, these could quickly turn into havens of allergic materials if you don’t wash them. Seeing as bedspreads, towels, and others aren’t washed as regularly as other clothes, it’s important that you treat them to periodic hot wash. This way, you’ll kill off stubborn organisms, germs, and stains that might have stayed on these items.
Keep Your Shoes Outside
Your shoes are major carriers of allergens, and that’s because you step on lots of unhygienic surfaces daily. To preserve your home from those external allergens, practice taking off and keeping your shoes outside – especially if you’ll be stepping out subsequently. Once you’re home, take off your shoes and clean them before bringing them into the house. You can also buy flip-flops or thick socks for walking indoors to help reduce walking into the house with your uncleaned shoes.
Keep Pets Out
Pets are lovely but if you’re allergic to your pet’s fur, it might be a great idea not to have any. If you can’t do without pets, then you should build your own safe space outdoors. However, if you can’t keep your pets outside the house, ensure that they have their own space indoors, and keep them away from sensitive areas like your bedroom and kitchen – these areas need to be free of pets’ fur. Clean your house and your pets regularly to reduce the risk of allergens lying around.
Clean Regularly
If you hope to keep your home free from allergens, then you have to constantly keep it clean. You can either hire a housekeeper or take the pain to clean your house daily. Regularly dusting and wiping off surfaces would go a long way in preventing the build-up of allergic materials in your home. Wash the dishes and take out the trash early – this will prevent unhealthy rot and the buildup of bacteria in your waste bin.
If you’re looking for a comprehensive and affordable cleaning solution that will rid your house of all allergens, contact Premier Carpet Cleaning today. We offer a wide range of services designed to make your home healthy and comfortable for you and your family.