5 Ways to Reduce Springtime Allergens In Your Home

Have you ever wondered why seasonal allergies get worse during spring? The two main allergens responsible are pollen (mostly from trees) and mold. As the weather warms up, trees and other plants get ready to reproduce. To reproduce, they start making lots and lots of pollen, which the wind can carry for miles around. Mold also increases during spring because warmth and moisture become more abundant as we leave winter behind.

Below, we’ve compiled some tried and true tips for reducing the concentration of these springtime allergens in your home.

HOW CAN I KEEP SPRING ALLERGENS OUT OF MY HOME?

While it’s difficult to completely eliminate pollen from your home, there are a lot of ways that you can reduce its concentration and get some relief from allergic symptoms.

1. Remove Your Shoes Indoors

Wearing shoes indoors can introduce your home to all kinds of allergens, including dust, pollen, and mold, as well as harmful germs—even fecal bacteria! Instead, take your shoes off as soon as you come inside and place them on a tray or shoe rack.

2. Change Your Clothes After Outdoor Activities

Pollen can stick to your clothes after you spend time outside, whether it’s gardening, exercising, or taking your kids to the park. Once you get home, put those clothes in the washing machine if you have a full load ready, and make sure to keep them away from your bed.

3. Keep Your Clothes Off Outdoor Clotheslines

Speaking of laundry, when it’s time to dry your clothes, either use your dryer or let them hang dry indoors. Using an outdoor clothesline gives pollen an ample opportunity to stick to your clothes.

4. Buy a Vacuum Cleaner With a HEPA Filter, and Use It Weekly

If your vacuum cleaner only has an ordinary filter or chamber, the dust and allergens it sucks up can escape back into your home! A HEPA filter can trap extremely fine particles so that they stay trapped in your vacuum cleaner. You’ll also want to vacuum often, so either vacuum your entire home weekly, or you can vacuum one room a day, which many people find more manageable on a busy schedule.

5. Upgrade Your Home’s Indoor Air Quality Protection

You have a few options when it comes to reducing allergens in your home and improving your indoor air quality. You can replace your HVAC system’s current air filter with one that has a MERV rating of 13 for extra filtration against allergens. A UV light system or an air scrubber (like the Aerus Hydroxyl Air Scrubber) combined with an efficient filter will not only trap allergens but also destroy harmful biological contaminants like mold, viruses, and bacteria.

Contact Tom's Mechanical, Inc. now for professional indoor air quality solutions for your Arlington home: (972) 388-3669.