Tips For Making Your Home Allergy-Friendly

Allergies are your body’s reaction to certain things that it simply does not like for whatever reason that is usually built into your genes. An allergen can be something as complicated as the pollen from a specific flower, or something as simple as dust. When your body is introduced to something it is allergic to, one of the mildest responses available is for it to release chemicals called histamines, into your bloodstream. These histamines are what give you your runny nose, itchy, watery eyes and may even cause a rash on your skin if the allergy is local.

Keeping Allergens Out of Your Home

Pets are the largest source of in-home allergens for people. The reason for this is that dust is mostly comprised of skin - minute particles that are falling off our bodies virtually every second of the day. Pets have skin as well and their dander (skin particles and hair) tend to come off a good deal more than humans, and while it is rare for humans to actually be allergic to each other, it is quite common for them to be allergic to the skin and hair of common dogs or cats.

If you have pets, the best way to work on keeping your home allergy-friendly is to clean on a regular (daily) basis. Vacuuming and dusting frequently will help to keep those particular allergens down and reduce the discomfort some of your guests might otherwise feel when visiting your home.

Clean the Air

Many allergens are so light and fine that they never touch the ground - that is to say, that you cannot vacuum them up or dust them off of your shelves or tables. These allergens need to be pulled out of the air by other means such as electronic filters. These devices work similarly to a fan or miniature vacuum, sucking air in and passing it through specialized filters that remove particles from the air before blowing it back out through a separate vent. There are also specialized filters that you can buy to put in your air-conditioning or furnace unit that will filter the air that is sucked in to your home vents for heating or cooling.

Go Green

Chemicals are increasingly responsible for causing allergies and one of the best ways of dealing with that problem is by looking for natural or green products for cleaning your home and clothes. Many detergents are made chemical-free, including soaps, shampoos, floor cleaners and other products you tend to use on a regular basis. Switching to these products will significantly reduce the number of allergens you have in your home in addition to helping the environment.