Key Points
- Spring allergies may worsen indoors, but certain cleaning methods may help reduce symptoms at home.
- Key tips include using air purifiers, washing bedding and curtains, and dusting thoroughly.
- Regular cleaning of HVAC filters, vents, and surfaces improves indoor air quality and comfort.
Every year allergies seem to get worse and worse—so much so that some of us can’t find relief in our own homes. But that doesn’t mean all hope of breathing freely is lost. According to TikTok cleaning content creator Mai Zimmy (@maizimmy), there are easy ways we can clean our homes to reduce the impact of spring allergies when you’re indoors.
Read on for her top 10 cleaning tips and how you can apply them in your own space below.
1. Get an Air Purifier
For keeping spring allergens at bay, an air purifier is usually the first step many people take, and it’s an important one. According to Zimmy, you should be putting multiple air purifiers in various rooms of your home, or carrying one around to whatever room you’re spending the most time in.
Personally, I’ve been using this one from Rabbit Air that fits seamlessly into my space and runs quietly and efficiently. However, at nearly $400, it is definitely an investment. I think this $30 one from Target is a cheaper option that still gets the job done.
2. Wash All Bedding
Washing sheets, blankets and comforters is something I can definitely attest to not doing often enough. However, if you’re anything like me and experience spring allergies, you may want to get started on washing your bedding ASAP.
While they can be kind of a pain to wash, these comfy pieces can hold dust, pet hair and other airborne particles that may make us extra stuffy if we aren’t washing them at least every few weeks.
3. Change Your HVAC Filter
Out of all of Zimmy’s tips, this one may be one of the more labor-intensive ones, but it’s especially important to take care of your HVAC filter during spring cleaning.
Your HVAC filter is a critical component of your heating and air conditioning system that helps circulate air, but it can quickly get clogged with dust. You want to replace these filters to ensure you’re breathing in clear air when your HVAC system is running.
4. Dust Air Vents
Along the same lines of the HVAC filters, you want to dust any air vents in your home. This ensures dust and debris isn’t further circulated in your home’s air and environment.
5. Clean High to Low
When dusting, you want to go from high points to low points, which means you don’t want to clean or vacuum your floors before cleaning anything that is above them because if you clean above, all that dust will travel down to the floor you just cleaned. Instead, you want to dust starting up high and work your way down.
6. Dust Everything
This may be self-explanatory, but you want to ensure you’re cleaning every surface you can if you want to minimize spring allergies.
This means door knobs, walls, ceilings, plants—you name it. If it’s in your home, you should be wiping it off or cleaning it with the proper cleaning supplies.
7. Wash Curtains
Much like bedding, curtains can hold a lot of allergens in their fabric. If you have machine-washable curtains, definitely throw them into your next load. If not, feel free to take a damp rag or sanitizing fabric spray, wipe down your curtains and let them air dry.
8. Use Pillowcases
One unique trick Zimmy shared was using a pillowcase to wipe down fan blades or anything dusty that can be wrapped inside the case.
While you still want to clean from high to low, this method traps dust and dirt from flying into the air and keeps it contained inside the pillowcase. Just be sure to wash it when you’re finished.
9. Lint-Roll Furniture
Much like dusting, you want to take a lint roller all over your couches, chairs and other fabric furniture.
While it’s still important to wipe things down and wash what you can in the washer, this will take care of any stubborn fuzzies or pet hair.
10. Vacuum Every Surface
Once you’ve wiped, dusted and cleaned everything off, you want to vacuum every surface possible. From floors and couches to chairs and even mattresses, think of this as your last line of defense to rid your place of potential outside allergens.
While these tips may not completely get rid of your allergy symptoms when allergens come inside, they definitely can help. And regardless of whether or not you have spring allergies, following these tips will definitely have your home feeling as fresh and clean as possible this season.
About the author
Mariah Alanskas
News Writer, DenGarden
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