How Cleaning Can Reduce Allergens in Your Home

Do you find yourself sneezing a lot in your St. Cloud, Florida, home? If so, you might have too many allergens floating around. Allergens such as pollen, dust mites, and pet dander cause your body to react negatively, leading to congestion, runny nose, coughing, itching, and much more. There’s no reason to keep suffering from allergy symptoms on a regular basis. Use these cleaning tips to lower the number of allergens in your home and help make your life more comfortable.

Have Your Ducts Cleaned

Even if you keep the surfaces of your home as clean as possible, you’ll still have allergens circulating around if your air ducts aren’t clean. You’ll know your air ducts need cleaning if you notice dust everywhere despite regular cleaning. Also, your energy bill might be higher than usual and you might notice decreased efficiency from your air conditioner.

Vacuum Your Floors

If you have carpet in your home, it’s basically a breeding ground for dust mites. These pesky creatures nest inside the thick fibers, multiplying so they can spread throughout your house. One way to prevent this is to switch to hardwood or tile flooring, but since this isn’t a very practical solution, you’ll need to up your vacuuming game. Vacuum your floors at least once a week using a vacuum cleaner with a high-efficiency particulate air filter.

Wash Your Linens

Unsurprisingly, linens are also a breeding ground for dust mites. They can also collect pet dander, dirt, and debris, all of which can irritate your body. This is why you should wash all your linens at least once a week. Your washing machine removes these particles when it reaches temperatures at or over 130 degrees Fahrenheit.

In addition to more frequent washings, you may want to consider switching over to dust-mite-proof covers for your pillows, box springs, and mattresses. This should limit dust mites from wreaking too much havoc.

Switch to Green Cleaning Products

Depending on the types of cleaning products you use, you may actually be doing more harm than good in your home. Cleaning products made with chemicals can contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can cause numerous health problems, including cancer. To prevent any nefarious symptoms, always use green cleaning products in your home. These products contain only natural or plant-based ingredients, so the fumes shouldn’t exacerbate any of your allergies.

Clean Under the Kitchen Sink

You’ve tackled the floors, your bedroom, the tabletops — what are you missing? For many people, it’s the space under the kitchen sink. This oft-forgotten cove can be a breeding ground for sinister creepy crawlies, from cockroaches to ants and more. These pests and their droppings are another cause of allergies, so do your best to keep this area clean. Remove anything you have stored under here and give the space a good wipe down with an anti-bacterial cleanser.

You’ll also want to seal any holes and keep the area dry. This prevents bugs from getting inside, and if they do get inside, the clean and dry environment won’t be to their liking.

Change Your HVAC Filter

Though not necessarily a cleaning tip, changing your HVAC filter is a routine chore you should perform at least every three months. Schedule the change at a time when you perform other maintenance around the house to help you better remember it. How will you know when your HVAC filter requires changing? You’ll probably see a spike in the amount of dust and dirt in your home, as well as an exacerbation of your allergy symptoms.

While regular cleaning should greatly decrease your problems with allergens, don’t be afraid to call in Frank’s Air Conditioning for more help by calling us at (407) 490-2070.

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