This time of year, we are starting to see new signs of spring: buds on the trees and flowers poking up after a long winter slumber. Even though these springtime sights are enjoyable, the new growth can also be a warning sign for people with allergies hereditary factors. Allergies often run in families, leaving everyone miserable because their allergies cause runny nose, headaches, sneezing or even hives, fever or other signs of an allergies attack.
Whether your allergies flare up in certain seasons, or you suffer from allergies throughout the year, spring is usually the time allergy sufferers are feeling desperate to find a way to ease symptoms. You can’t change what’s blooming and growing outside, but once you know how to reduce indoor allergens, you can minimize the allergy triggers in your living space. So say goodbye to the allergies fever, coughing, runny nose and instead say hello to breathing easy again just by implementing these allergies home remedy tips!
Allergy Causes: What Are Some Indoor Allergens and How Can I Get Rid of Them?
Before you start implementing any allergies home remedy you have to know the common triggers that cause allergies. The most common household allergy triggers are dust, molds, pet dander and roaches (more common in urban areas). is to reduce your exposure to known triggers.
Why? Because when you come in contact with allergens in the environment, your body starts an immune response to protect you against that allergen. The resulting symptoms often include a runny nose, congestion, plugged ears, headaches, sneezing, fever and more.
These symptoms can cascade into other parts of your life, making it hard to sleep at night. You might also feel groggy and sluggish during the day. And to make matters worse, the ongoing pandemic has caused coughing or sneezing to be triggers for coronavirus fears. You may have gotten Allergies through genetic family lines, but symptoms don’t have to have a negative impact on your life. Instead, take control by reducing your exposure to known triggers. Let’s break them down.
Allergies Home Remedy Tip 1: Eliminating Triggers for Allergies from Dust
Whoever coined the term “dust bunnies” may not have thought about the fact that there are actually dust bunny bugs that come along for the ride. Allergies from dust are actually allergies to the microscopic dust mites that hang around your house eating the skin cells we or our pets flake every day (yeah, it’s gross, but it’s what really happens).
So what’s the best allergies home remedy for the allergies from dust? Quite simply: get rid of the dust. That means you need to set up a cleaning schedule for your house that regularly pulls the dust from your house.
Start high and work down in your house so that the dust you disturb settles low as you go. Use a microfiber towel to dust high shelves and bookcases - and don’t forget those ceiling fan blades. Once you’ve finished dusting, use a vacuum with a HEPA filter that captures more smaller particles compared to regular vacuums. In fact, a cheap vacuum (without a HEPA filter) can actually make your allergies that cause coughing worse because it pulls the compounds from the ground and sends them flying into the air. For allergy sufferers concerned with allergies from dust, vacuum the floors twice a week, and invest in a quality HEPA air filter to use throughout the day. The more you vacuum your house, the more you pull those dust particles out of the air you breathe.
Those who have allergies from dust should also add changing your furnace filters to the cleaning schedule for your house. The filters are designed to capture dust particles that float in the air, so keeping those clean will help reduce the number of dust particles flying through the air. And as you begin to vacuum more, you should see less dust in those furnace filters.
Allergies Home Remedy Tip 2: How to Get Rid of Molds in the House
If you’re dealing with allergies with dry cough, allergies with runny nose, allergies with fever or allergies with eyes swollen, you might be fighting mold allergies. Molds can be worse depending on the area of your home (think bathroom), the geographic area you live in (the hotter and wetter the climate, the more mold you’ll fight), or even the season (spring through fall, depending on your geography).
For some, fighting mold in the house is a year-round battle that requires constant vigilance. For those of us in the DC Metro region, thinking about how to get rid of molds in the house is probably a more seasonal problem across the household or a bathroom and kitchen problem the rest of the year. No matter your challenge, first you need to pinpoint the places where mold grows in your house, stop the moisture that’s causing the mold growth and then you need to get rid of the mold itself.
There’s quite a bit of controversy over whether you should fight mold with bleach or whether you should stick with more natural products. For those concerned about the harmful effects of bleach, consider cleaning your floor with vinegar. ServiceMaster asserts that 82% of mold species can be killed with white vinegar, and that it can also help keep mold from growing again.
The EPA also says that killing the mold isn’t enough to remove the allergy causes, but that dead mold must also be removed. To remove the mold, try using a microfiber towel to completely pick up the remaining dead mold.
Allergies Home Remedy Tip 3: Dealing with Pet Dander
If you have allergies with dry cough, allergies with post nasal drip, or allergies with runny nose, you may have pet allergies. What causes pet allergies? That cough, runny nose or sneezing is likely an immune response to the proteins in a pet’s dander (the dead skin cells that flake off), urine or even saliva. Most pet allergies are associated with dogs or cats.
The same tips we suggested in our Allergies Home Remedy Tip 1 are true here. Dust mites are attracted to pet dander just like they’re attracted to our own dead skin cells. To combat this, dust regularly with a microfiber towel, set up a cleaning schedule for your house that includes regular vacuuming with a HEPA filter vacuum and change furnace filters often.
In addition to that, though, go to the source of that pet dander and regularly bathe and brush your pets to cut down on the dander in the first place. And if Spot leaves a urine spot in the house, clean it up quickly to reduce allergies causes for your guests. If you yourself get an allergies attack from pet dander, but still want to have a pet, consider keeping your pets away from places you often sit and sleep, like your bed or favorite chair, to reduce the possibility of an allergies attack. If this is hard to do in practice, stay consistent with a weekly laundry schedule to prevent an allergies attack. For example, your bedding should be changed at least once a week, and you also need to switch out the bathroom and kitchen towels regularly.
Spring Cleaning to Prevent an Allergies Attack
No matter the trigger for your allergies attack, creating a cleaning schedule for your house is an effective way to reduce your triggers and help you feel better. When you minimize exposure to these microscopic allergies causes, then your symptoms start to go away because your body is no longer activating an immune response.
These Allergies Home Remedy Tips can help you avoid an allergies attack and keep you breathing easy. You can also use these tips as an allergies home remedy that works throughout the year for minimizing exposure to dust and pet dander.
Hire a Cleaning Team
If you’re overwhelmed with keeping up with everything, the fastest and easiest way to clean your home is by hiring a professional cleaning team, like You’ve Got Maids of Northern Virginia. You can access a free estimate through our website, or call (571) 732-2199. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Our team is licensed, bonded, and insured. We are proactive about training our staff members and everyone goes through a 7-year background check. Additionally, we protect your health by following COVID-19 protocols. Our entire team is fully vaccinated.
Contact us for more information. Let us focus on cleaning your home so you can focus on enjoying your life!
