When you’re miserable with allergy symptoms, your inclination may be to lock yourself indoors away from pollen and other outdoor allergens. However, indoor allergens can make you just as miserable.
Some of these allergens include pet dander, dust, mold, and more. Combating indoor allergens is essential to keep your allergy and asthma symptoms under control. How can you make your home allergy-free?
Understanding Indoor Allergens
Some indoor allergens enter your home from the outdoors. For example, they might blow in through open doors and windows. Some allergens are transported indoors by people and pets. There are also allergens that are sourced from inside the house. These include pet dander, mold growing in houseplant soil and wet areas of the home, dust mites on bedding, and more.
Many allergens land on soft surfaces, making them tough to remove. For example, dust and other allergens can settle seep in stuffed toys, upholstery, pillows, bedding, rugs, and carpet. There, they build up over time, decreasing indoor air quality and increasing allergy symptoms.
The Role of Deep Cleaning in Allergy Management
Deep cleaning involves more thoroughly cleaning and sanitizing areas of the home that you already clean on a weekly basis. For example, you regularly vacuum rugs and carpet each week. Deep cleaning takes this a step further with steam cleaning. Steam allows more of the grime to be removed from the flooring, and it kills mold spores.
Deep cleaning covers other important tasks throughout the home, such as eliminating dust and dust mites from mattresses and curtains, removing dust from fans and trim, sanitizing bathrooms and appliances, and more. This deeper level of clean minimizes the buildup of allergens, allowing you and your family to breathe more easily.
Room-by-Room Deep Cleaning Strategies
When deep cleaning, it’s essential to start at the top of each room and work your way down. This is because debris will get dislodged and float downward as you clean.
You’ll also need to declutter every area of your home and move appliances and furniture for thorough results. These are must-do’s when deep cleaning your home:
Kitchen
- Wipe down the interior and exterior of your drawers and cabinets.
- Sanitize the interior and exterior of the appliances.
- Sanitize the counters, sink, and garbage disposal.
Bathrooms
- Wipe down the interior and exterior of cabinets and drawers.
- Eliminate mildew, including behind the toilet, on the backsplash, and in the shower and tub areas.
- Sanitize the interior and exterior of the toilet, including the tank.
- Clean the shower curtain and liner.
Bedrooms
- Clean blinds and curtains.
- Deep clean the mattress and pillows.
- Declutter and clean your closet.
Living Spaces
- Dust areas that you might not usually touch, such as lamps, electronics, and picture frames.
- Vacuum and steam upholstery.
- Clean blinds and curtains.
Tips for Maintaining an Allergen-Free Home
Maintaining an allergen-free home means preventing outdoor allergens from entering your home. It also means minimizing sources of indoor allergens and filtering allergens from the air. These are a few effective tips that can make a big impact:
- Deep clean your home at least once or twice per year.
- Invest in an air purifier with a HEPA filter.
- Use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter and vacuum at least once per week.
- Wash your curtains and blinds every three months.
- Remember to dust knick knacks with your regular cleaning routine.
- Use a dehumidifier to reduce the risk of mold growth.
- Wash your bedding weekly using hot water and high heat drying.
- Take your shoes off at the door.
- Bathe your pets regularly.
- Wipe down your pets each time they enter your home.
- Change the air filters as recommended.
- Clean air ducts approximately every three to five years.
Routine cleaning plays a key role in tackling allergens at home, but that’s not enough. Deep cleaning should also be completed regularly to keep you and your family healthier. Deep cleaning is a major chore, and it can take several days to do on your own depending on the size and condition of your space. TidyHere takes the stress out of this important chore with professional deep cleaning services. To breathe easier, schedule service with us today.
