By Jim Gates, CAFS
There are a number of different places that allergy triggers can hide within your home. These triggers can make your home a very uncomfortable place for anyone who is sensitive to allergens and can lead to severe reactions in people who are susceptible to them.
Three Hidden Allergy Triggers
Finding the hidden allergy triggers in your home and removing them effectively will make your home a much more pleasant place for you and your family members.
1. Animal Dander
Animal dander is typically associated with large dogs that shed and furry cats, but the truth is that any animal with fur and skin will produce animal dander that can trigger allergies in the people living in or visiting your home.
The areas where the animals live and play will have the highest concentrations of pet dander and the movement of the animal in these areas can release old dander that has settled back into the air.
To limit the amount of animal dander throughout your home, limit the animals to certain areas, clean these areas thoroughly on a frequent basis, and purchase a high quality air conditioner filter that is capable of removing pet dander from the air in your home.
2. Dust Mites
Dust mites can be anywhere in a home and their droppings and decayed body parts create the dust that you see on various items in your rooms. Getting rid of this dust is an important key to keeping the allergens in your home under control, but dust can hide in places that you would never think to look.
When you are dusting your home, be sure to lift items and move them around so that you can clean all areas around them and make sure that you are using a dusting product that traps the dust so that you are not just brushing dust off surfaces and into the air.
3. Pollen
Pollen is one of the most prevalent allergy triggers found in a home, especially in the spring and fall months when pollen counts are high. It’s important to take steps to reduce the amount of pollen in your home to avoid triggering allergy symptoms in people who are allergic to pollen.
A few ways to reduce the presence of pollen inside your home include:
- Keep your doors and windows closed as much as possible during the times when the pollen count is highest
- Install a high quality air conditioner filter that can remove small pollen particles from the indoor air.
- Consider removing outerwear and shoes in an area close to the entry doors of the home to prevent disbursing pollen from outdoors throughout the home.
Reduce Triggers for Improved Indoor Air Quality
Taking these steps to reduce the presence of common allergy symptom triggers in your home can help keep your indoor air quality at a high level and ensure that you, the other residents of your home, and the friends and family members who visit you can breathe the cleanest possible air.
About the Author
Jim Gates, CAFS, is the brand manager for Quality Filters, Inc. (http://qualityfilters.com), a leading manufacturer and distributor of high quality home and commercial air filters. The company’s products are available online at BuyFilters.com (http://buyfilters.com).
