INDOOR-AIR HEALTH AND ALLERGIES
Ever wondered why allergies can vary so much from person to person?
Think of it like this: each of our bodies have our own bucket-sized ability for how many hormones, toxins, chemicals, or allergens we can handle. Everyone has a little different capacity. When your bucket becomes full and starts to run over, that’s when you start to have allergy symptoms.
If you’re someone who struggles with allergies, chances are you probably rely on medication or nutritional supplements for relief. Both options are fine and can be effective, but they aren’t always solving the underlying problem.
One way to tip the allergen scale the other way is to make sure the environment where you spend the most time—your home—has good air quality.
HOW TO START IMPROVING YOUR HOME’S AIR QUALITY
Life is busy, but in general your home is where you spend the most time. After all, we sleep at home and we spend time relaxing there each day.
When it comes to air quality, your home is the place where you have the most control. You are the one who gets to decide what cleaning products you use around the house. One really important way to improve your home’s air quality is to use chemical-free cleaners. Personally we like to use Melaleuca products. Our contact is Ann Sievers 763-639-5925.
Another way is to be diligent about regularly changing the filters on your furnace. Your furnace can basically be used as a filtration system to keep allergens down if you use it right. If you have pets in your house, then you’ll want to change your filters extremely often or get special filtration systems in the house to keep the allergens down. Our favorite contact for filtration systems is Brad Link, 612.363.7558, Air Mechanical.
NEXT STEP, CLEAN YOUR RUGS
You know those cozy carpets and rugs in your home? Surprise, surprise, but they are the biggest filtering system you have in your house. Lots of things that go into your rugs can come back out acting as allergens.
Instead of fearing what’s lurking in your carpets, use those carpets to help improve your home’s air quality! The best way to do this is to get your rugs professionally cleaned by a company that does an in-depth cleaning process.
Some companies do steam cleaning and some do shampoo cleaning. We recommend you find a carpet cleaner who uses both types of cleaning together. When a hypo-allergenic shampoo is used to clean the allergens out and then a high pressure steam technique is used to finish the job it’s basically like putting a new filtration system in your home. Your home’s air quality will improve immediately.
Our favorite carpet & rug cleaner contact is Jason Schroeck, 763.789.9600, Green Clean Restoration.
How often should we clean our carpets and rugs?
Great question. Our best response is that this all depends on what kind of traffic you get through your home, what allergens are in your environment, and how bad your allergies are.
Try once a year and see if that makes a difference. Some people can go a couple of years between professional cleanings, but some people find they have to clean their rugs a couple of times per year. It might take a bit of experimenting to find the perfect balance for your family.
If allergies are something you or someone you love struggles with, come visit our next Hope Class to learn more about how natural care can help support your body.