De-Allergizing Your Home

It may not seem logical, but the cozy indoors is often worse for your allergies and asthma than the raw outdoors. Your home--with its fabric-covered furniture and pillows, its carpeting, tightly sealed windows, and warm, damp spaces--is like a field strewn with allergy land mines. Research shows that indoor air pollution can be up to 10 times greater than outdoor pollution and its effects much more intense, since we generally spend more than 90 percent of our time indoors.

People are rarely sensitive to the things that make up the house itself--that is, the paint, wood, steel, plastic, and such. Instead, it's the microscopic things growing and accumulating in the house that cause allergies and asthma attacks. These unwanted occupants come in several forms, but the most prevalent in-home allergens are dust and its components (primarily dust mite and cockroach droppings), molds, fungi, and pet dander. Among the places where they accumulate most are bedding, carpets, damp areas, and air filters. Allergies and asthma can wreak havoc on your life, keeping you from doing the activities you enjoy. Our Coping With Allergies Anywhere Guide will make it easier for you to live life fully. First, you'll do a top-to-bottom inventory of your house to determine where allergens may be congregating. Then you'll tackle a room-by-room cleanup to get rid of the allergens that are there as well as to make the rooms less hospitable to allergens in the future.

Entrance

You probably don't think much about the entrance to your house in relation to allergies, but it's the gateway, and whatever is outside gets dragged inside. Here are moves to make.

Use a doormat made of synthetic material. A doormat made of natural material (such as a rope or other fibers) can break down and become an excellent environment for mites, mold, and fungus, which then get tracked into the house. Wash all mats weekly.

Clean all dead insects from porch lights. As they decompose, they can become an allergen source.

If you have carpeting in your foyer, consider removing it. You want a hard floor for easy cleaning.

Put a shelf or rack by the front door for footwear and encourage your family and guests to remove their shoes when entering. This will reduce the amount of dust, mold, and other allergens that are tracked in. Keep some soft slippers in a basket by the front door for people who don't want to go shoeless.

Bedrooms

Items to eliminate

Wall-to-wall carpeting. If possible, replace it with hard flooring and 100 percent wool area rugs that can be washed or dry-cleaned. If it's not possible to replace it, have it professionally cleaned once a year.

Blinds and curtains. They are dust magnets.

Down-filled comforters.

Anything made with feathers. Dust mites love feathers.

Stuffed animals.

Forced hot-air heating vents. If you have them, and want to keep the heating system, use HEPA filter vent covers. HEPA stands for high efficiency particulate air. You can get them at home improvement stores and some heating/air-conditioning retailers.

Pets. Don't let dogs and cats in the bedroom at any time, and keep your door shut so they can't even cross the threshold.

Upholstered headboards. Switch to an iron or wooden bedstead.

Piles of pillows. They look pretty, but they, too, are harbors for dust mites.

Cleaning tips

Tackle the dust behind the bed and dressers, under the bed, and on top of the ceiling fan. Always use a damp cloth; dry cloths just spread the dust around.

Wipe every item in the room--including books, knickknacks, perfume bottles, and jewelry boxes--with a damp cloth.

Wipe down the walls and woodwork.

If you're keeping the curtains, wash them in 130°F water.

Strip the bed and wash everything, including the comforter or blankets, in 130°F water.

Vacuum the bed with a vacuum equipped with a HEPA filter and wipe down the mattress with a damp rag.

Closets

Keep clothing in zippered plastic bags and shoes in boxes off the floor.

Declutter by discarding coats and other clothing you haven't worn in the past year. Also, store sports equipment in the garage or basement. Slip shoes into hanging shoe bags, shoe boxes, or a shoe rack. When you finish, you should be able to clearly see the closet's floor and back wall.

Forgo mothballs in favor of cedar chips, or store clean woolens in sealed plastic bags or airtight containers. You can also place garments in the freezer for several days to kill adult moths and larvae.

Check corners and walls for mold; you may have a leak you've never noticed because it's in the back of a dark closet.

Check for mold on any boxes and other containers stored in the closet.

Before switching your clothes each season, wash or dry-clean the new season's clothing to get rid of any dust mites that have taken up residence.

Bathrooms

Check under and behind toilets to make sure there's no mold growing because of condensation. Make sure toilets are installed properly so water doesn't leak into the walls or floors, which could encourage mold.

Look under the vanity for any leaks and mold. Throw out any damp items.

Wash the shower curtain in hot water once a month or use a shower curtain liner that you can replace inexpensively every couple of months.

Watch out for the slime that can grow in shower door tracks; make sure they're cleaned every week.

Wash the bath mat in hot water every week. The dampness from stepping onto it wet from a shower can attract dust mites and cause mold growth.

Check window sashes for mold that can grow there as a result of condensation.

Run the exhaust fan or leave the window and door open when taking a shower or bath.

Regrout as necessary to prevent leaks that could lead to mold growth.

Living Room and Family Room

If you have a wood-burning fireplace and you have asthma, you're better off converting it to gas or using it for decoration only. Regardless of how well your chimney works, some fireplace smoke always enters the house, irritating your lungs. Plus, the wood you're using could have mold on it, and spread millions of spores around the house when burned. If you have a gas fireplace, be sure it is vented and burning properly to avoid a buildup of soot.

Watch out for candles. Although they're romantic and lovely, they can also irritate supersensitive airways (this is especially true of scented types). If you must have candlelight, try electric window candles that use low-wattage bulbs instead of wax and wicks. Or stick with natural, unscented beeswax candles, and be sure they have lead-free wicks. Also, avoid candles in jars, which tend to burn unevenly, leaving more soot deposits on walls and floors and thus more potential allergens in the air.

Get rid of your overstuffed couch and replace it with leather or vinyl, which will not be as hospitable to allergens.

Clean under the furniture, dust the knickknacks, wipe down the walls, and clean the window treatments.

Kitchen and Dining Room

Put the contents of all open boxes of food in airtight containers to discourage insects.

Clean the tray under the refrigerator with a bleach solution; it's a mold magnet. Add salt to the drip tray to help reduce the growth of mold and bacteria. Also, clean under the refrigerator occasionally, because food that's trapped there can become moldy--and whenever the refrigerator's compressor goes on, the mold spores will be blown into the kitchen.

Check under the sink. Quite often, a sink sprayer leaks around the fittings, and water drips under the sink, soaking everything down there and creating a perfect environment for mold.

Clean the sides of the doors of your oven, dishwasher, and refrigerator with a solution made of bleach.

If you leave a tablecloth on your dining room table, replace it weekly, even if you haven't used the table. Loads of dust is gathering on the cloth, even if you can't see it.

Dust inside the china cabinets, as well as outside.

Laundry Room

Tear out any carpet under the washer. Any leaking can lead to mold that can irritate allergies and asthma.

Check and tighten plumbing fittings if necessary.

Use unscented laundry products.

Make sure your dryer is vented to the outside. For every load of laundry you dry, 20 pounds of moisture has to go somewhere, and if your dryer is vented to the garage or basement, you're inviting mold.

Basement

Inspect every inch of your basement, including crawlspaces, for signs of dampness or mold. If you find any, clean the area with a bleach solution. Also track down the source of the water. Every time you go into your basement, basement air enters your house--particularly warm air, which rises. If the basement has mold, those spores come into the rest of your house.

Consider changing your landscaping so water doesn't flow toward the house.

Check all fittings around pipes to make sure none leak, and insulate any that show condensation.

Make sure your sump pump is clean and working properly.

Check any visible insulation. Is it wet or damp? If so, tear it out, find the cause of the dampness, repair it, and install new insulation.

Exposed insulation is a magnet for pet dander and dust mites. If possible, cover it with foil-covered sheet foam insulation, which absorbs less moisture.

At least three times a year, clean the walls and baseboards with damp cloths. Dust can accumulate on basement walls just as in any other part of your house and be sucked up through the heating system.

Check all belongings stored in the basement. Anything that is stored directly on a concrete floor--such as boxes, newspapers, clothing, or wood--is vulnerable to mold and rot from condensation.

Don't store any clothing in an unfinished basement, even in a cedar closet, if the basement is damp.

If you have dehumidifiers, make sure you periodically vacuum and clean off the coils, which can become dust traps.

Measure the humidity with an instrument called a hygrometer, available in most hardware stores. You want a reading below 50 percent.

Check under the forced hot-air furnace or air-conditioning unit for mold, fungus, and dust.

Heating and Air-Conditioning Units

Install a HEPA filter in your heating unit and be sure to change it regularly.

Disconnect any humidifiers. They're perfect breeding grounds for mold and mites that can easily become airborne in the microscopic droplets of water from the humidifier.

Clean electrostatic filters.

Have your central air-conditioning unit inspected and cleaned. These units are perfect breeding grounds for mold and fungus.

Try to keep the thermostat at 65°F or higher in winter. Although you probably want to keep the temperature low during the day to save on heating costs, heat serves a good purpose by drying out the air and preventing mold growth.

Attic

Check for animals, such as squirrels, bats, and mice, and their droppings, which could contribute to allergies.

Look for roof leaks that could soak the inside of interior walls.

Make sure there's adequate ventilation. It's best to have a professional check this, using smoke tube testing.

Check for any ice buildup in the winter. As it melts, it can result in mold.

Every Room

Do away with air fresheners and other fragrances, which can exacerbate asthma symptoms. If you have odors, try placing bowls of vinegar in out-of-the-way spots, or leaving a cotton ball soaked in vanilla extract in a saucer to absorb odors.

Check your houseplants. If you're overwatering them, you may be contributing to the growth of mold. Often water leaks through a pot onto the carpet, creating a perfect environment for mold. Also, put pebbles on top of the dirt to prevent mold spores from getting into the air too easily.

Consider replacing any carpet with solid-surface flooring such as laminate, vinyl, or wood, and any blinds or curtains with simple fabric cellular shades.

Outside Your Home

Make sure your gutters are clear so water can't seep into the house. When it rains, you shouldn't see water leaking out of end caps, flowing on the outside, or dripping behind the gutters.

Make sure all gutters have downspouts and that drain trays are pointing outward.