Living with allergies is not easy, but it is certainly much easier when homeowners take proper precautions and conduct thorough, targeted home cleaning. The level of cleanliness in the home will directly impact how much a person suffers from their allergies. If you want more relief in the place that you call home, then here are some cleaning measures you can take to achieve that.
Clean Bathrooms with Bleach
One area where allergens will thrive in many homes is the bathroom. Here, mold and mildew can surface and grow as water pools. As you clean this room of the house, you have to be aware that mold can be hard to eliminate. Mold is particularly resilient and can come back quickly if it is not treated properly.
Effective cleaning methods are the key to killing mold and mildew. First, stop any leaks or other water sources that could add to the problem. Then, clean the affected area with bleach or another strong cleaning agent that can kill mold. Detergent usually works as well, but the important thing is that you use something strong enough to kill the mold off. If all you are doing is wiping the moldy surfaces clean, then the mold spores will come back.
Wash Bedding in Hot Water
Bedsheets, pillowcases, and other linen will trap allergens and become very uncomfortable over time if they are not cleaned. As you sleep on your bed each night, you are leaving behind dirt, dander, pollen, and dust that can cause irritation, like itching and sinus problems.
If you clean the linen regularly, you will eliminate a lot of those allergens, but some can come back quickly. The best way to ensure that bedding stays clean from allergens for longer is to use very hot water when you wash it. Set the washer to hot water and put all your linen through once or twice a month as needed. This will greatly reduce the number of allergens in the bedding and will make sleeping in your bed far more comfortable.
Clean Carpets Thoroughly and Regularly
Where are allergens most likely to hide in the house? In most cases, the carpets are the biggest allergen stores. The deeper the pile (carpet fiber height), the more allergens they can store. Carpets are often filled with dust, dirt, and other irritants, and they can be tough to clean effectively. Dust is out of control when there is a layer of it on any surface, but carpets can hide four times their own weight in dust and dirt and make it hard to notice.
Most people who are serious about keeping allergen levels low in their home and having a very clean home will have their carpets professionally cleaned. This may not need to be done very often- perhaps just a couple times a year- but cleaning the carpets thoroughly is a huge help in reducing allergens.
A professional cleaning company in Chicago, Illinois can handle all of the carpet cleaning for you. They can provide other home cleaning services as well and can ensure that the carpets are cleaned to your liking. For the average homeowner or renter, it can be nearly impossible to clean a carpet well, especially a large carpet. The tools required for that kind of work are not ones that most people keep at home. You can rent a machine, but the professionals will know how to use it best.
If you have a heavily carpeted home and you suffer from allergies, then keeping the carpet clean should be a top priority. The more frequently you clean the carpets, the less you should suffer from allergies. If you are concerned about the cost of hiring someone to clean your carpets professionally, we suggest sourcing quotes from a few cleaning companies and comparing them to get the best deal. This service may be less expensive than you think it is.
Use Allergy-Safe Cleaners
Do you notice that sometimes after cleaning the house you feel like your allergies are bothering you more? The problem could be the kind of cleaning chemicals that are being used. Are you being careful to use only cleaners that will be gentle on your sinuses? Some people are very sensitive to certain cleaners, especially strongly scented ones.
It can help to bring in professionals to do the cleaning for you so that you don’t have to be around the cleaning chemicals. You can also request that the cleaning company not use certain types of cleaners, if you know what your sensitivities are.
If you do some of the cleaning for yourself, then be careful about which cleaning chemicals you are using. You should choose ones that do not have a strong scent and that will not trigger a reaction from your sinuses. Make sure that the areas you are cleaning are well ventilated by opening windows and setting up a fan to circulate air.
Leave It to the Professionals
The last piece of advice that we would like to leave with you in this article is perhaps the most helpful. Allergy sufferers often have a hard time cleaning their homes. The lengthy work in a dusty environment and the way that their work causes dirt and allergens to fill the air will activate their allergies.
If you clean your house sometimes, you probably notice that you feel worse afterwards, and it is not just tiredness. You may also feel like you are suffering from allergy symptoms like a runny nose, stuffy nose, puffy eyes, or itchiness. You can try to reduce the effect that cleaning has on your allergies by wearing gloves and a mask and other appropriate equipment, but even those may not keep you completely safe.
If you want to ensure that your home gets cleaned and that you don’t suffer at the same time, then you can hire cleaning experts to do it. Call them in for the big cleaning jobs and the ones that really irritate your allergies. You will feel better and get great cleaning results.