To ensure allergen triggers are kept to a minimum, it’s important to maintain your home’s air filtration systems and cleanliness standards. Dust mites, pollen and animal hair can be overlooked when cleaning by hand, so be sure to keep a maintenance schedule for inspecting and changing your HVAC filter. Keeping fans, registers and filters clean can have a crucial effect on keeping common allergen triggers at bay. Common allergen triggers include:
Dust Mites
Dust mites are microscopic parasites that feed off of animal skin cells. To keep these nasty pests in check, use sheets and pillow casings especially designed to block allergens, and then vacuum with a HEPA filter-installed vacuum cleaner at least once a week. If a child’s stuffed animal becomes infested, simply collect the toy in a sealed plastic bag and place in the freezer for six hours. Dust mites need certain temperatures to live, and the extreme cold of your freezer will kill them every time.
Pet Hair
It’s not so much the hair, but the accompanying dander that creates an allergen trigger for many people. You can choose to remove pets entirely from the home, or select one with lowered dander counts during shedding. When hair clogs up ventilation and covers furniture, use a HEPA-filtered vacuum to collect it, and make sure you replace or clean your HVAC filter every month to maintain air quality in the home.
Pollen
If the door opens, it’s a sure bet that seasonal pollen will find its way into your home. A common allergen trigger, different varieties of plant pollen affect people differently. Generally, it causes swelling and flooding of the nasal passages, but it could also lead to rashes and severe inflammation requiring emergency attention. To combat pollen, consider adding a whole-house air cleaner that will scrub the air of micro-particles that could cause serious allergic reactions.
For further information about allergen triggers that can wreak havoc in your home and other issues related to home comfort, please contact us at Ace Hardware Home Services. We’ve been serving our neighbors in the Dayton and Springfield areas since 1978.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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