The bedroom is a sanctuary, and if anybody in your household suffers from asthma or allergies, you need some really good bedroom cleaning hacks to help keep it that way.
Even if you keep your house pretty clean on a regular basis, you need to go the extra mile to maximize comfort and control those allergy symptoms. The best way to do this is by reducing and eliminating household allergens. These allergens include dust mites, pet dander, insect waste, pollen, and mold spores.
Hi there! I’m Tanya Plattner from Tidy Life Happy Wife, and Jenny’s graciously letting me hijack her blog today to share some bedroom cleaning hacks for people who suffer from asthma and allergies.
Bedroom Cleaning Hacks for People with Asthma and Allergies
House cleaning is a challenge even on our best days, but when you add allergies and asthma to the mix, you need to be extra diligent and disciplined in keeping your home clean.
These hacks are meant to help you eliminate a ton of allergens in your quest to create a clean and healthy sanctuary bedroom.
1. Create a Regular Cleaning Routine
First things first, create a regular cleaning routine. Some people have them and some don’t, but everybody should.
A regular cleaning routine not only helps you maintain a clean home, but it helps keep dust and allergens at bay. A weekly routine is usually sufficient but extreme and constant allergy flareups are a sign that you should probably increase the frequency of your cleaning routine.
Need a cleaning routine?? Tanya has an excellent printable -> here of a unique weekly schedule for cleaning!
2. Clean from Top Down
One of the most useful general cleaning hacks I know is to clean from the top down. Start with the highest point in the room and work your way around and down from the ceiling to the floor.
This top-down approach gets rid of the most dust and dirt and is the most efficient. This prevents cross-contamination and repetitive cleaning of previously cleaned surfaces.
Imagine dusting all of your bedroom furniture, then dusting the ceiling fan. Some of the dust from the ceiling fan is bound to land on the bedroom furniture.
Recleaning is annoying, time-consuming, and continually sends allergens back into the air of your bedroom.
3. Declutter Regularly
Decluttering regularly is a common habit of people who keep their home tidy, but it’s also a great cleaning hack and really should be where you start. Every extra item in the bedroom provides one more surface for dust, dirt, and pollens to settle on and hide.
Start by decluttering everything that doesn’t belong or doesn’t need to be in the room. You don’t have to get rid of them completely, just try to find somewhere else to keep them.
Make decluttering part of your regular cleaning routine so you can stay on top of those items that find their way into your bedroom during your hectic days.
4. Use High MERV Rated Filters in Your HVAC System
HVAC filters can be one of the best lines of defense in keeping your home free of dust and allergens. They work by filtering and removing dust and particulate before recirculating the air through your home.
Buy a good quality disposable HVAC filter and replace it on a regular basis in order to reduce and block contaminants and allergens from entering your home.
In order to select an appropriate filter, you’ll need to look at the MERV ratings. MERV stands for Minimum Efficiency Rating Value and is part of a rating system created by The American Society for Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
MERV ratings range from 1 to 20. The higher the rating, the smaller the particles the filter can block. To give you a better idea, filters with a rating of 1 to 4 are designed to protect your HVAC system but aren’t effective and blocking particles that can be irritants. A filter with a MERV rating of 17 to 20 is considered a HEPA filter and is what you’ll see used in hospitals.
A MERV rating of 11-15 is sufficient for in-home filtration.
Nordic Pure 20x25x1 MERV 12 Pleated AC Furnace Air Filters, 6 PACK, 6 Count
AIRx HEALTH 20x25x1 MERV 13 Pleated Air Filter – Made in the USA – Box of 6
5. Get a Portable Air Purifier
In addition to using a high MERV rated HVAC filter to reduce allergens in the entire house, try placing a portable air purifier in the bedroom.
A portable air purifier will filter and clean the air in that room only. Portable purifiers are highly effective at removing large particle contaminants like dust and pollen.
Stay away from portable units that produce any ozone and ionize particles. Ozone causes contaminants to can react with household contaminants and create toxic air in your home. Ionizers cause contaminants to stick to nearby hard surfaces like walls and furniture.
QUEENTY Desktop Air Cleaner with True HEPA FilterhOmeLabs Air Purifier for Home, Bedroom or Office Dyson Pure Cool Link TP02 Wi-Fi Enabled Air Purifier,White/Silver
6. Use a HEPA Rated Vacuum Cleaner Filter
HVAC filters and air purifiers work at trapping and removing pollutants from the air, but what about the floors and other surfaces?
Use a high rated vacuum with a HEPA filter to remove dust, pollen, and other pollutants from bedroom surfaces.
Pro Tip: Get a HEPA rated robot vacuum so you can automate daily vacuuming for maximum contaminant removal with minimal effort on your part.
PureClean Automatic Robot Vacuum Cleaner – Robotic Auto Home Cleaning for Clean Carpet Hardwood Floor – Bot Self Detects Stairs – Allergy Friendly Pet Hair Vac – PUCRC26BHoover T-Series WindTunnel Rewind Plus Upright Vacuum Cleaner, with HEPA Media Filtration, Lightweight and Corded, UH70120, GreenShark Navigator Upright Vacuum for Carpet and Hard Floor with Lift-Away Handheld HEPA Filter, and Anti-Allergy Seal (NV352), Lavender
7. Install Hard Surface Flooring
An even better option than using a HEPA-rated vacuum is to get rid of the carpet and install hard surface flooring.
If you’ve ever lived in a home with carpet, you’re aware of how well it attracts dust and dirt. You’ve seen it all build up with your own eyes. Then there’s all the stuff you don’t see.
Have you ever seen underneath the carpet and pad when somebody removes it? No matter how clean you think you keep your house, there is significant dust and dirt buildup underneath your carpet.
Eliminating the carpet completely is one of the best hacks you can do to make your bedroom cleaner.
Hardwood or tile will be the easiest to keep clean, but opt for a vinyl or linoleum surface if it isn’t in the budget.
8. Wash Bed Linens in Hot Water
Soft surfaces attract common household contaminants; your bed linens are no exception.
Besides normal household contaminants, don’t forget about the dead skin cells that are sloughing off of your body all night long. Even if you shower right before bed, you’ll still slough dead skin throughout the night.
Then the dust mites! Those nasty little suckers feed on the dead skin cells and will hang around if you continue to serve them up a nice buffet.
In order to properly remove those skin cells and other contaminants, you should wash your bed linens at least once a week in 130-degree water. That means washing them on the sanitize cycle on your washing machine.
Don’t forget mattress pads and dust ruffles if you use them.
Pro Tip: Buy hypoallergenic bed linens.
9. Dust with a Damp Microfiber Cloth
Most dusting wands and wipes tend to push the dust around and send it floating in the air causing more irritation.
Use a damp microfiber when dusting hard surfaces to capture the dust and knock it down to the floor so you can vacuum it all up.
Don’t forget all hard surfaces including bedroom furniture, walls, and lighting fixtures
Pledge Lemon Enhancing Wipes 24 ctPledge Multisurface Wipes, Fresh Citrus, 25 ct, Pack of 6Murphy Oil Soft Wipes Multi Use Wood Cleaner – 18 ct – 2 pk
10. eliminate DUST COLLECTING WINDOW COVERINGS
Curtains and Horizontal blinds may add to your bedroom décor, but they’re also big dust magnets.
Remove them altogether or try replacing them with roller shades or window films that can be wiped clean with a damp microfiber cloth.
11. Use Hypoallergenic Cleaning Supplies
Cleaning supplies often contain harsh chemicals that can further irritate allergies and asthma. Steer clear of products that contain Ammonia, Formaldehyde, Sodium Hypochlorite, and Chlorine just to name a few.Instead, opt for unscented or natural products like baking soda, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, lemon juice, etc.
Hoover Free & Clean Deep Cleaning Carpet Shampoo, Puracy Natural All Purpose Cleaner, Streak-Free Household Multi-Surface Spray, Green Tea & Lime, 25 Ounce (2-Pack)all Mighty Pacs Laundry Detergent, Free Clear for Sensitive Skin, 67 Count, 2 Tubs, 134 Total Loads
What are Your Best Bedroom Cleaning Hacks?
I showed you mine, now show me yours. What are your best bedroom cleaning hacks that help with allergies and asthma?
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