I spent an afternoon yesterday helping to claen my parents’ new house before they moved in. I took over a bag full of cleaners and went to work on carpets and shelves and bathroom, getting rid of dust and grime. All the work reminded me that I promised, a few weeks ago, to follow up on my post about pet allergies with a post about allergen control in the home in general. So here goes the low down on the products that I use to handle allergens in the home.
Air Quality
Air quality control is perhaps the most important aspect of allergen control that I have ever addressed. There are two ways I have addressed this. I run a Hamilton Beach 04383 True Air Purifier in the rooms where we spend most of our time: the bedroom, the office, and the kitchen. This takes care of dust particles and dander in the air. The filter must be vacuumed periodically (every few weeks). Exactly how often depends on how hard the machine has been working.
I run a dehumidifier in two rooms. Ideally, I would run one in each room–our house is very air tight, and the humidity level is higher than I like. For now, I run the Eva-Dry 2200 in the living room during the day–I do not like to run it while we are sleeping or not at home. These machines shut off when the reservoir is full; but the plugs become very warm while they are running, and I like to be here to keep an eye on how they are doing.
There is a petite dehumidifier, and I run one of these in the bedroom when the humidity is very high and move it to the office or bathroom as needed. It does a good job in a ten by ten room.
A note on dehumidifiers: It is impossible to say how quickly it would take for the reservoir to fill in your home. It depends entirely on how much moisture is in the air and the size of the room compared to the size of the humidifier you place in the room. If you place a small humidifier in a closet that is very moist, the reservoir will fill up very quickly. If you place it in a room that is too large (e.g. a 12 by 20 room), the machine will work too hard and fail to pull much moisture from the air.
Laundry
Removing allergens from clothing is extremely important. We pick up various allergens when we are outside: pollens, secondhand smoke, animal dander from other people’s homes, dust and grime, etc. All of our laundry gets washed in special laundry wash.
Allersearch has fabric softener available in case you are sensitive to standard sheets. We are not; so I have chosen to continue using standard fabric softener sheets in the dryer.
Carpets, Upholstery, and Other Surfaces
Keeping the dust mites away is a never-ending chore. For dusting surfaces, I use Allersearch’s anti-allergen dust spray. This spray can also be used on upholstery and curtains. I have used it on the mattress cover before putting sheets back on the bed.
For carpets, I use Allersearch’s X-Mite Anti-Allergen Moist Powder Carpet Cleaner. The proper procedure for applying this product requires time and patience, unlike a product like Arm and Hammer’s powder., which I will use in a time crunch. I believe that Allersearch works much better in terms of allergen control.
On counter surfaces and even the bathtub and wall tiles, I use Mrs Meyers Multi-Surface Everyday Cleaner. It comes in several scent options, and if you are sensitive to these scents this may not be the best product for you. I am able to tolerate some but not others–the product uses real plant oils and my tolerance depends on my allergy to the actual plants unlike products that use synthetic chemicals to mimic the scent of plants. The product does a tremendous job with dirt removal and leaves behind a very smooth surface beyond what I expected. Mrs Meyers also offers other products, and I have been equally pleased with everything I have used.
My strategy has involved not only controlling exposure to allergens but also avoiding further exposure to chemical allergens found in many cleaning supplies. I should stress that for each person this process has to be individualized. As you learn about your own allergies, you will be able to determine what cleaners you can use safely. Many people mop their floors with vinegar and water… For my home, this would be a problem since vinegar is one of my sensitivities. (I use Mrs Meyers in my mop.)
More power to you as you develop your own cleaning strategy!
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