April showers bring May flowers. Spring is here and so are…allergens. While everyone around you continues to giddily await spring, as an allergy sufferer, you may know a different reality. Spring represents a time of the year where blossoms might also equal blowing your nose. Retreating to the confines of your house might lead to relief, but did you know your spring cleaning can make your home more comfortable? Read on to learn about some surprising ways that a few extra steps in spring cleaning can actually help with spring allergies.
Replace Air Filters
While all of us know cleaning out a closet is synonymous with early spring cleaning, adding filter changes into your scheduled activities is even more impactful for your allergies. Clean HVAC filters, especially those with the right MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value), are unseen powerhouses that help keep your entire home clean. Similarly, it’s vital to change your air purifier filter every 3-12 months, depending on the filter type. Swapping out for a furnace filter like a Honeywell High Efficiency Allergen Filter, with a MERV of at least 11, helps to provide superior residential air quality. And don’t forget the filter in your vacuum if you have one. If you don’t, consider purchasing a vacuum with a replaceable or cleanable high-efficiency particulate (HEPA) filter. Give that filter a quick check to make sure your vacuuming is not also agitating your symptoms or kicking dust and dirt back into the air.
Hidden Allergens
The relief you get from sorting through your possessions and reducing clutter isn’t just a mental one. Those extra surfaces are also sneaky holders of dust particles and pet dander. For each piece of soft surface, high crevice, or high-pile pillows you store in your home, you’re storing extra agitators to your allergies. If you know you’re not going to bring that pillow back into rotation, consider donating it rather than storing it. It might also be time to do a quick once over to décor you have on display, as well. If you don’t love it, think about minimizing overall. Or do a design refresh and introduce some sleeker, more modern, looking pieces. You’ll be doing yourself a favor — making your regular cleaning easier, and tackling places where allergens hide.
Using an Air Purifier
You’ve gotten through everything. Every closet, drawer, and baseboard has been sorted and wiped down. Wouldn’t it be great if the hard work you just put in could be extended even further? Well, it can be! With the right air purifier you can capture up to 99.97% of the following microscopic airborne allergens and particles: dust, pollen, pet dander, dust mite debris and smoke¹. Honeywell Air Purifiers provide options for every sized room, and are an easy way to reduce allergens in your home. By trapping the source of allergy symptoms before they even settle into your rooms for good, air purifiers like the compact and streamlined Honeywell Designer HEPA Tower can help do the dirty work so you don’t have to.
Remember: Follow manufacturers recommendations for replacing the filters in your air purifiers, too. Ensuring the filter is correctly sized and installed in the air purifier housing is a way of getting the most out of your unit.
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Minimize Discomfort
People with seasonal allergies may find extra relief through spring cleaning; the steps you take can have lasting effects that keep you comfortable in your home all spring long. And as always, be thoughtful about the way you clean, not just what you clean. Start high and go low, clean less frequently but more thoroughly to keep the dust from blowing up, and use a damp cloth to keep overall dust down.
¹ From the air that passes through the filter, 0.3 microns and larger