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April is National Healthy Homes Month. Your home can have a big impact on how well you manage your asthma and allergies. Reducing asthma triggers and allergens in your home should be an important part of your asthma and allergy management plan.

How Do I Know If I Have a Healthier Home?

Take this quick home assessment to see if you have allergy and asthma triggers lurking in your home that could be affecting your health:

  • Do you have wall-to-wall carpeting?
  • Do you have leaks under your sinks or mold in damp areas like your bathrooms and basement?
  • Do you have a lot of fabric décor that can’t be washed, like throw pillows and blankets, heavy drapes, large area rugs, etc.?
  • Have you had your mattresses longer than 10 years and your pillows longer than 2 years? Do you have allergen-barrier covers on them?
  • Do you allow your pets in your bedrooms?
  • Do you have piles of clutter collecting dust and pet dander?
  • Do you open your windows during high pollen season or wear your shoes inside your home?
  • Do you use scented candles, wax melts, plug-ins, or potpourri?
  • Do you have signs of pests, like cockroaches or mice?
  • Do you or anyone living in your home smoke?

If you answered yes to any of these items, you may have allergens and irritants that could affect your asthma and allergies. But thankfully, you can improve the overall health of your home.

How Can I Have a Healthier Home?

There are several steps you can take to improve the health of your home. If you aren’t sure where to begin, start by improving indoor air quality in your bedroom. You spend most of your time at home in your bedroom. And it tends to have more allergens than anywhere in your home. Then you can work on improving indoor air quality in other areas of your home, like the kitchen, living room, and the attic and/or basement.

To start a new habit of maintaining a healthier home, try these tips:

  • Have everyone who lives in your home take their shoes off at the front door to avoid bringing in pollen.
  • Wipe your pets off when they come inside to remove pollen and don’t allow your pets to go in your bedrooms.
  • Keep your windows closed during high pollen seasons or when outdoor air quality is poor.
  • Encase your mattresses and pillows in CERTIFIED asthma & allergy friendly® covers to reduce your exposure to dust mites.
  • Wash your bedding and throw rugs weekly in water that is 130°F or hotter to remove dust mites and pollen.
  • Reduce piles of clutter that can collect dust and pet hair.
  • Vacuum carpet at least weekly with a CERTIFIED vacuum cleaner.
  • Fix leaks and have mold cleaned.
  • Don’t allow smoking in your home.
  • Store your trash and food in airtight containers to prevents pests. Clean up spills and don’t leave food or dirty dishes on the counter.
  • Use a CERTIFIED air filter in your HVAC unit to help reduce allergens in the air.
  • Consider a CERTIFIED air cleaner to also reduce allergens in the air in your home.

There are many other ways you can improve the health of your home. Once you have made the changes above, check out other ways to continue to create a healthier home.



Many products promise to help control allergens but not all of them do. When you are shopping for products for your home, look for the CERTIFIED asthma & allergy friendly® mark. It indicates the product has passed our testing standards to help you have a healthier home.

Visit aafa.org/certified to search for CERTIFIED products. There you can also learn more about the asthma & allergy friendly® Certification Program.

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Comments (11)

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No problem at ALL, SillySally ... I feel all thumbs with Facebook and Twitter, so I get your point exactly!

These topics (or "threads" -- why they're called threads, I have no clue!) may help you out ... just click the topic title below, and it should take you to where people have been discussing it in the past.

Asthma vs Housecleaning - the Struggle is Real! - house cleaning with lots of tips and tricks about cleaning 

Dealing with irritants - how to handle things like those "perfume assaults"

K8sMom2002
Shea posted:

Yes these comments on this particular post pop out reverse than the others with the oldest comment at the bottom and the newer ones at the top. It confused me too because I made that cat/dog comment a while back before your comments.

Yeah, the default on blog comments is "newest" first. But you can change that for yourself. There is an option between the reply box and the start of the comments to change how they are ordered:

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Kathy P
K8sMom2002 posted:

Hi, SillySally! Welcome to AAFA's online community! We have several members who struggle with the same things you do, and they have great ideas ... you can start a new topic with your excellent questions. Or you can find older discussion "threads" where people have already talked about how they manage these triggers. 

I live in the mountains my problems are with the apartment complex moving in smokers who have to smoke outside and the drift coming in my apartment  with my doors and widows closed and scents from cleaners and I think diffusers and I have had a few days where I was not able to leave my patio it was so bad I am demanding under the ada to be accomodated and having to go through fair housing.  I already know how tl control my asthma,allergies and epilepsy otherwise, management just says I have lived here 4 years and not had these problems and I have new problems we have new tenants.  I do not know what a thread is  I find this very helpful and comforting am 60, do not tweet, facebook, blog and do not know what a thread is I am sorry to be so computer dumb  If I am being rude say so I am a big girl and have my big girl boots on  I am leaving town this week and ook forward to learning much

S
Shea posted:

Hi Sillysally.. Yes these comments on this particular post pop out reverse than the others with the oldest comment at the bottom and the newer ones at the top. It confused me too because I made that cat/dog comment a while back before your comments. 

Awesome on homemade products! I usually buy 7th Generation products or use vinegar water with a few drops of essential oils. If you ever want to share your cleaning recipes, Id love to hear them! I am really trying to keep up on all my cleaning and do this checklist, it really seems to help.

you are spot on vinegar, baking soda, lemon oil in water will all clean alot and produce little allergy for me.  cloves and cinnamon if not allergic or peppermint oil all can be dilute help keep away pets and spiders from areas one does not want them.  I am lower income and learned to make out of neessity when I was young, people just thought I was a hippie

S

Hi, SillySally! Welcome to AAFA's online community! We have several members who struggle with the same things you do, and they have great ideas ... you can start a new topic with your excellent questions. Or you can find older discussion "threads" where people have already talked about how they manage these triggers. 

K8sMom2002

Hi Sillysally.. Yes these comments on this particular post pop out reverse than the others with the oldest comment at the bottom and the newer ones at the top. It confused me too because I made that cat/dog comment a while back before your comments. 

Awesome on homemade products! I usually buy 7th Generation products or use vinegar water with a few drops of essential oils. If you ever want to share your cleaning recipes, Id love to hear them! I am really trying to keep up on all my cleaning and do this checklist, it really seems to help.

S
sillysally posted:

make homemade cleaning products and natural ones

i  am new to all this computer stuff what does this  do  am allergic to scents cigarette smoke food dyes and colors , alot of cleaners and perfumes, have hayfever and do not live in a bubble yet

S

If you are allergic to cats or dogs and own one:

"It should be recommended that the animal be removed from the patient's environment, as avoidance is believed to be the most effective measure for the management of dog and cat allergy."

According to consensus

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.co...ll/10.1111/all.13391

 

S
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