Allergen Avoidance

Removing allergens from your environment is the only way to avoid contact with dust, dust mites, feathers, animal fur/dander, and other perennial allergens. "Allergen avoidance" is a clever lie. You can't really sneak around them or stay out of their way. As you'll see below, allergen avoidance actually means cleaning everything!


If you're serious about allergen avoidance, you really have to make time for the activities suggested below. The best way to make sure this happens is to have a schedule. Rotate the cleaning activities so that you're performing at least one of them every day at the same time. That way, it will be a brief chore blended into your daily routine, like brushing your teeth or bathing. Habits like these are much easier to maintain than a once-a-week "cleaning-fest" that you dread and try to avoid.

Allergen Avoidance Tips

Pollens
  • Avoid being outside, especially on windy days.
  • If coming in for the rest of the day, shower immediately.
  • Close windows and use air conditioning to avoid contamination of indoor air with pollen.

Mold

  • Clean bathrooms twice weekly with bleach, especially:
    1. Shower curtains, walls, and tub
    2. Windows and sills
    3. Moist corners
  • Empty trash every day and clean trash containers once per week with bleach.
  • Keep humidity below 50% indoors.
  • Stay out of below-ground basements. They are nearly impossible to keep mold-free.
  • Paint or varnish as many surfaces as possible since wood and wallpaper harbor mold.

Pet Fur/Dander

  • If the pets must stay indoors, then:
    1. Wash them once every week or two.
    2. Brush outside daily.
    3. Never allow them in your bedroom.
    4. Vacuum twice weekly.

Dust/Dust mites

  • Eliminate as much upholstery, carpeting, and rugs as possible. Shampoo the remainder monthly with tannic acid or another mite-killing agent.
  • Mop hard-surface floors and dust other surfaces with a damp cloth twice weekly.
  • Vacuums should have particle filters, as should furnace/air conditioners.
  • If your home has no forced-air circulation, consider room air cleaners at least for your bedroom.
  • Put plastic covers on all mattresses and pillows.
  • Wash sheets in hot water and dry on high once weekly.
  • Lower humidity below 40% (dust mites thrive in high humidity).


Note: While this list of tasks may be impractical for larger homes, you should at least have one allergy-free haven indoors: the bedroom. That's where people spend most of their in-house time (usually sleeping). Focusing allergy avoidance techniques there may be all that's necessary.


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