With spring comes the arrival of pollen and allergens. Plus, with the return of good weather, you'll likely be spending even more time outside. With all the dust and pollen in the air, your allergies are almost certain to return and will often do so at the worst possible time. While it's hard to completely avoid allergic symptoms during the springtime, there are steps you can take within your home to help fight them off.
Make Spring Cleaning More Than a Catch Phrase
Spring cleaning isn't just something the home and garden TV channels like to talk about. It's something that really can have a huge impact on your health.
Dust can trigger allergies on its own, and dusty surfaces also help hold pollen and other allergens that float in from the outside. Do a deep cleaning to remove all dust from your shelves, the tops of your counters and appliances, your curtains, behind large furniture, and anywhere else dust might hide. Also consider reducing the amount of knickknacks and other clutter that attracts dust throughout your home.
Schedule an Air Duct Cleaning
Your air ducts can also become filled with dust and other allergens. This happens both when pollutants get past the filter and when they float in through the output vents when the HVAC system isn't running.
When your air conditioned air flows through dirty ducts, it spreads allergens throughout your home. You don't need a cleaning every year, but if you don't know when your last one was, it's time to schedule one. Go to websites like this one for more information on getting your HVAC system cleaned.
Keep Up With Yard Maintenance
Dead leaves left over from the fall, wildly growing weeds, and unpruned trees all create sources of dust, pollen, and other allergens. If you like to leave your windows open, these will be blown inside your home by the wind. Even if you leave your home tightly sealed, your family and your pets will track the allergens in when they come in from the yard.
Cut your grass, pull your weeds, and prune your trees throughout the year to reduce yard allergens.
Don't Forget Your Air Filters
Changing your air filters every 30 days is not a marketing gimmick to sell more air filters. When air filters become dirty, they lose the ability to trap microscopic particles that can slip through into your HVAC system. Set a phone reminder so you change your air filters on time, every time.
Try these tips to better fight spring allergies!
