Healthy Home

By Norma McCormick

Indoor allergens that can be found in the home include dust, dust mites, mold, pet dander, and cockroach. An allergist may recommend environmental control measures for the home depending upon the offending allergen. Complete avoidance may be difficult, but simple steps can be taken to reduce the exposure:

1. Lack of circulation

Opening windows to let indoor allergens out of the home can bring outdoor allergens such as pollen and mold spores into the house.

Instead, use heat an air conditioning to clean, circulate and dehumidify the air in the home. Also, using a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter to remove airborne allergens, such as pet dander. Dust mites and cockroach allergen are heavy particles that do not stay suspended in the air and settle quickly, so air filters do not work well for these allergens.

2. Moisture

Dust mites and mold thrive only in high humidity areas. Maintain the homes relative humidity level below 55 percent by using heat and/or air conditioning equipment consistently and using a dehumidifier where necessary – doing so will discourage dust mites an mold growth. Repair all roof and plumbing leaks to prevent mold growth.

3. Cleaning

Cleaning is the best way to reduce allergens. Done regularly, cleaning stops allergens from accumulating, which helps minimize allergy and/or asthma symptoms. Pay special attention to the bedroom since most exposure to dust mites is while sleeping – 60 percent of dust mite allergen is found in mattresses and bedding. In order to control these allergens, wash bed linens in hot water (at least 130 degrees) weekly and vacuum mattresses regularly. Comforters, blankets and curtains should be washed frequently. Encase pillows, mattresses and box springs in “allergen-control” covers, and freeze or wash stuffed animals weekly in hot water ( at least 130 degrees).

Clean and disinfect wet, warm areas – such as kitchens and bathrooms – weekly to stop mold growth.

Smooth floors should be vacuumed, dusted and wet mopped weekly. When sweeping, take care not to circulate dust from the floor into the air.

Vacuum carpet and rugs at least once a week – twice a week in the bedrooms an high traffic areas. Use a well functioning vacuum cleaner that has adjustable brushes and bears Carpet and Rug Institute’s Vacuum cleaner Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Testing Program green label. These are vacuum cleaners that have been tested for and meet strict standards for removing soil and containing the dust within the bag and vacuum cleaner. Vacuum cleaners may produce dramatically different cleaning results and impact on the indoor environment. The green label program endorses only vacuum cleaners that perform each of the following three tasks well: soil removal, dust containment (without putting the dust back into the air) and carpet appearance retention.

Vacuum upholstered furniture regularly, and clean hard furniture with a damp cloth. A damp cloth should be used on window treatments, windowsills, and window frames, ceiling fans, light fixtures and storage units as well Dust also can be reduced by storing books an knick-knacks in closed cabinets – doing so leaves fewer places for dust to settle and makes cleaning easier.

Reference: www.carpet-rug.com

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Norma S. McCormick - Certified Master Textile Technician with over 18 years in the Cleaning Industry. Norma owns Guaranteed Clean Carpet Systems and Norma's fine Oriental Rug Cleaning.

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