Can You Keep Allergies Out Of Your House? on Home Services

Dec

Can You Keep Allergies Out Of Your House?

posted by home in Air Duct Cleaning

Melissa Ford could not have stuffed animal toys as a child because of her allergy to dust mites. It was also hard for her to live with carpeting.

Growing up, the executive director of the Kansas City Chapter of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America took allergy shots for seven years to fend off symptoms such as scratchy eyes, a runny nose and drainage.

Ford no longer needs the shots, but she regularly takes steps around her house to reduce dust mites in order to keep her year-round allergy under control.

An estimated 50 million Americans — one in five people — suffer from some types of allergies. People have problems indoors and outdoors, from food and drugs, latex and insects. Some show up in the skin, others in the eyes, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

Eight out of 10 people in the United States are exposed to house dust mites, and six out of 10 are exposed to cat or dog dander, some of the most common allergies, the foundation says.

Ford said the steps people take toward allergy proofing their homes depend on how high of a concentration the allergies are in the home and how much it truly bothers them.

She vacuums her home regularly and uses a dehumidifier to ward off mold. She washes her bed linens in hot water with bleach once a week, has an allergen-reducing mattress and pillow covers and periodically vacuums the mattress.

Janice Nolen, assistant vice president of national policy and advocacy at the American Lung Association, said that simple things can be effective in reducing indoor allergens.

She said for a dust mite allergy, people should keep the humidity level in their home between 30 and 50 percent.

“It may require a dehumidifier, but it’s probably the most effective thing in reducing dust mites,” she said.

Mike Tringle, director of external affairs at the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, said dust mites are present in 90 percent of beds and pillows.

He said the majority of dust comes from dead human skin cells, dander and dirt that remain in the air all the time.

“The smaller the particles, the bigger the problem, because the deeper it goes into your lungs,” he said. “The trick is, how do you minimize your exposure to these types of allergens?”

He said to use the right kind of vacuum, mite-resistant bedliners, and high-efficiency particulate air filters — known as HEPA filters — throughout the house and to patch leaks in pipes where moisture wants to thrive.