Cleaning for Allergy and Asthma Sufferers

by: Carole Pagan

My daughter recently had a bout with asthma. The strange thing is, she hadn't had any problems for a couple of years. In looking at the possible triggers - She had a new batch of puppies at her dad's. While the 2 dogs didn't seem to bother her, the addional puppies seemed to put her over the edge.

To make matters worse, since we hadn't had problems for a couple of years, I had become lax in some of the cleaning that I would have done when she had problems every year.

Once I realized what her problem was, I immediately started cleaning for asthma. That means thoroughly vacuuming walls, behind furniture, matresses, pillows, upholstery, screens, and vents, and dusting every crevice- including things like behind the tv and stereo inside the cabinet, the backs of furniture.

I normally dust the ceiling fans and blinds, but if you kinda skip those, you need to pay more attention if you have any allergies or asthma in your home.

A quick carpet clean and changing air filters and furnace filters finishes up the cleaning job.

You also want to change your hand towels everyday, just in case it's a virus triggering the response.

If you have pets, keep them clean and brushed, and their living areas cleaned. Keep pets out of the bedrooms of affected people.

The list of things that typically trigger asthma is actually pretty long -

• House dust mites found in carpeting, mattresses, bed linens, toys, upholstered furniture, dampness, poor ventilation, unvented cooking, humidifiers
• Animal-derived allergens from dogs, cats, rodents, and birds.
• Mold found in carpeting, walls, and windows, caused by leaks, poor ventialtion, water damage, or dampness.
• Nitrogen oxides produced by space heaters or gas-fueled cooking stove, used with poor ventilation.
• Wood Smoke from wood stoves or fireplaces, used with poor ventilation, or faulty equipment causing fumes to come back into the room.
• Fumes from cleaners, aerosols- like hairsprays, perfumes and even air fresheners, pesticides, formaldehyde found in some older household products.
• Viral respiratory infections - exposure to infected people
• Endotoxins from bacteria growing in soil, humidifiers, and other moist places.
• Cockroach allergen
• Tobacco smoke
• Excess weight.

If there is one thing you can do to minimize allergy or asthma suffering- it is to become a vacuuming fanatic. The more you get into that bag, the less you have floating around in the air. It's healthier, and you'll have less dusting to do in the long run.