Daily Habits that are Getting You Sick

March 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment

home sicknessYou go about your days and then you wake up one morning just not feeling well. This is a common scenario for many women and they often cannot pinpoint what made them sick. Well, some daily things that you do could be the cause. Things like vacuuming and washing the dishes could lead to getting sick or increasing your allergy symptoms. Yes, you can use this as an excuse the next time you are too tired to clean up after dinner.

You Use a Sponge

The kitchen is the dirtiest room in the home regardless of how much you clean. You are bringing in different viruses and bacteria just by unpacking the groceries. So, you have your trusty sponge that you grab to wipe things down in an attempt to prevent illness, but you still get sick. It is time to ditch the sponge because sponges harbor bacteria and other nasty things. Then, you grab it, touch your face and this is where illness starts. You can bleach or boil your sponge to help ward off the nasty stuff, but it is best to just ditch it completely.

Vacuuming

While vacuuming is meant to clean up dirt and dust, the tiny dust particles that cause illness just slip right through and go right back into the air. This can cause allergies or even something like a cold. If you want to get the most out of your vacuuming, then choose a vacuum with a HEPA filter and this will eliminate the most dust and allergens so that you can breathe in cleaner air. If your allergies are getting really bad, or if you get frequent colds, you may consider ditching the carpeting completely. Wood floors are a lot easier to keep free of dust and allergens so that you can spend fewer days sneezing and battling colds.

You Use a Mattress and Pillows

Well, not just you, but pretty much every American sleeps on these every single night. Now, mattresses and pillows are havens for dust mites because you shed dead skin cells as you sleep and this is what they feed off of. This probably has you pretty grossed out. This can double your allergies. To help with this, get a cover for your box spring, mattress and pillows. These can be removed and shaken off, and keep dust mites and dead skin cells from accumulating.

You Open Your Windows

The fresh air is a wonderful thing, especially after a long, cold window. However, once you open that window you invite in things like pollen and pollution. This can lead to allergies, the common cold and other more minor illnesses. Running your air conditioner can actually help to cleanse the air and keep your home comfortable at the same time. If you have seasonal allergies that really bug you, an air purification system is your best bet. You still want to limit opening the windows, but this type of system can help to remove pollen, dust, mold spores and other airborne irritants.

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Quick and Easy Cleaning Tips to Help Your Dust Mite Allergy

February 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment

cleaning for dust mitesDust mite allergies are not uncommon. If you find yourself waking up every morning just to start sneezing there is a chance that you are allergic to dust mites. Of course, a doctor needs to confirm this, but there are some cleaning tips that you can use to help reduce the dust mites so that you can breathe easier and not sneeze so much.

Get the Humidity Out

This can cause other issues like dry skin and sometimes nose bleeds, but dust mites need high humidity to survive. You can get monitors that will tell you how much humidity is in your home. You want to aim to keep it under 55 percent. This means that using a dehumidifier can be helpful, as are fans in the kitchen and bathroom to keep steam to a minimum.

Say Goodbye the Carpets

Carpets are a haven for dust mites. You could scrub your carpets once a week and vacuum daily, but dust mites will still be present in your carpeting. You want wood floors that you can easily keep dust free with a broom and a damp cloth. You can put throw rugs down, but be sure to take these outside to “beat” them once or twice a week so that dust mites do not have time to settle on them and cause you to start sneezing.

Mite Proof Covers

Your mattress has more dust mites on it than anything else in your home. This is often why you wake up sneezing. You have been exposed all night long. There are bed covers that are “dust mite proof” so that they cannot penetrate and make a home on your mattress. You should also change your bed linens at least twice a week. When you wash them, do so in hot water as this will kill the dust mites on them.

Change Your Window Treatments

Heavy drapery is difficult to clean and it is a major source of dust mites. Ideally, using just blinds is best because you can easily wipe these down every day with a dust brush or even a damp towel. If you really like curtains, go for a lightweight, cotton curtain that can be easily taken down and washed twice a week in hot water. There are a lot of simple curtain options available and they happen to be what is in style in terms of home décor right now.

Your Furniture

You are not going to ditch your furniture to avoid dust mites and you shouldn’t have to. Get a vacuum that has a hose on it so that you can vacuum your upholstered furniture. This can be done once or twice a week to keep dust mites to a minimum. Take your throw blankets and throw pillows outside and “beat” them to get rid of the excess dust.

As for your surfaces, shelves and tables, simply wipe them down. There are some surfaces, such as those in the kitchen, that you naturally wipe down every day. Other surfaces should be wiped down with a damp cloth at least twice a week to keep dust at bay.

You do not need to deep clean every single week to keep dust mites in check. You will be more diligent in cleaning, but it will not take much more time than you usually spend cleaning. Then, you will do your deep spring cleaning and all should be well for you and your family.

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