Wiping Up: Tips For Spring Cleaning For Allergy Season
Spring is nearly sprung across the country, and with the arrival of budding plants and plenty of rain comes the season that between 10 and 30 percent of people dread: allergy season. Whether your nose has more trouble with dust than pollen or plants than pet dander, spring can be an increasingly annoying time of year, especially if you spend more time sniffing and sneezing than being able to stop and smell the roses – literally and figuratively. So if you're looking for a few tips and tricks to keep the allergen levels in your home down to a minimum and enjoy the spring for its charms, then here's what you need to know.
Dust, THEN Clean
When you're cleaning, the general rule is to go from the top down – start at the dusty tops of your wall sconces or your ceiling fan and gradually move down to eye level – knee level – and finally the floor. This is so you don't get things dirty that you've already cleaned when you displace dust and dirt above them – so when you're getting rid of that pesky dust, go through and dust everything first, letting it settle (hopefully on your duster, but a lot will get on the things below), then wiping up as necessary. This will save you not only a lot of hassle but also a lot of sneezing if you would have decided that dusting isn't worth cleaning everything again.
Replace Your Filter
Removing the dust and dander won't do you much good if your air filter remains gross, putting all that muck back into the air in your home. Air filters should be replaced every 60–90 days (2–3 months, in other words, or roughly 4–6 times a year), especially if you have a pet – though if you notice the air seems dirtier more quickly than that, change it as often as you need to. Your filter's job is to keep your home's air clean – if it's dirty, it's not only not doing its job anymore, but it's contributing to the problem by sending all the dirt out again.
Go Professional for Your Carpets
Carpets are notorious for hiding allergens in their fluffy, soft threads – pet dander, dust – even mold spores can disappear from view and bury themselves deeper than a vacuum can easily reach. For this reason, after you've done the rest of your spring cleaning, consider hiring a professional team to come and deep clean your carpet. Not only will professional equipment do a better job than you could hope to, these people clean carpets for a living and know them inside and out, using that extra knowledge to really make your carpet look and feel better than the day you bought it. A professional job will kill and remove those allergens that have been causing your nose trouble – and best of all, it can probably be accomplished in a day by professionals, while it would take several for you to do all by yourself. Contact a company like Go Green Carpet Cleaning for more information.