Saturday, July 31, 2010

Summer Allergy Success Plan - 5 Ways to Avoid Summer Allergy Flare Ups



Summer time can be a dreadful time if you are sensitive to allergens that go airborne in the summer. Here are 5 things you can do that will help you successfully manage your allergies and navigate the summer season.

Clean Your Space Often

Dust alone is often a trigger for allergies, but add the dust mite which is usually found in dust and your allergies can receive a double whammy. Dusting with a damp cloth or mop is more likely to capture the dust rather than sending it into the air for you to inhale or ingest.

Capture dust permanently by vacuuming rather than sweeping and spreading it around. Opt for a vacuum with a HEPA filter that can eliminate the particulates for good.

Be sure to launder bed linens once a week with water that is at least 140 degrees Fahrenheit. This is a temperature that the dust mite cannot survive, and will kill many of them before they can reproduce.

Keep Humidity Low

Leaks in the bathroom, kitchen and basement areas can increase humidity and cause a spike in the mold count. Keeping these areas dry will drastically decrease the airborne mold spores that are likely to be in your air. Let the bathroom fan help you get rid of moisture after baths and showers.

Put as many indoor plants outside on the porch or patio. Having moist soil indoor because of numerous house plants can also encourage mold growth.

Be Selective About Outdoor Time

Choose to be outside when the air quality is best--early morning or late evening. Dry, windy days are likely to have a higher pollen count and are good times to choose activities indoors.

Limit Outdoor Air Exchange

Keeping windows and doors closed helps you control what comes into your home or office from the outside. And even though some pollen, dust, and mold spores will always enter as you come and go, using the air conditioner rather than fans greatly reduces the number of allergens introduced into your indoor air.

Use the air conditioner in the car when traveling, and if possible park in a garage to minimize the amount of particulates that settle on your car when it is not in use.

Continually Filter Indoor Air

Using an air cleaner with a HEPA (or high efficiency particle arresting) filter is probably one of the most important actions that you can take to keep indoor air quality high.

By definition a HEPA filter removes 99.97% of airborne particles that are greater than.3 microns in size. This means that for every 10,000 airborne particles that are floating in the air, this type of filtration will remove 99,997 of them.

This kind of purifier can eliminate a large number of the airborne particles that cause allergy flare-ups-dust, dust mites, mold spores, pet dander, and even bacteria and viruses.

By routinely following these 5 easy steps, you can make a huge difference in your quality of life during the summer and throughout the year.


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