4 Common Allergies Found In The Home

If you are one of the countless people suffering from allergies, then you know that it’s the kind of life where the fight is on all year round. Allergens come in many shapes and sizes, and unfortunately, our homes seem to be ripe breeding grounds for them.

As a matter of fact, some of the nastiest allergy triggers are found indoors and no matter who you are, you need to reduce your exposure to such elements as much as possible.

While it’s a tad unlikely that the world will be rid of allergens anytime soon, you can fight back against them… and so let us explore the most common allergies in the home and what you can do about them.

1. Mold

The bane of all households, mold generally grows in dark and humid environments, which means you’re most likely to find it in basements and bathrooms. It’s quite prevalent in bathtubs, showerheads, and moist carpets in particular.

Over longer periods of time mold can have a strong impact on anyone who keeps breathing it… basically making it a very powerful allergen. Thankfully, mold can be cleaned away rather easily with some water and a five-percent bleach solution.

2. Pollen

Most people see pollen as something that’s restricted exclusively to the outdoors, but the fact of the matter is that it gets inside your house without you even knowing it.

Whenever you go outside during nice weather a few bits of pollen become attached to your clothes and shoes, and you bring them all in when you come back inside. While it may not sound like much, over time the pollen can accumulate enough to become a noticeable problem.

To hold it at bay, it’s recommended that: you keep your windows closed during summer and opt for air conditioning instead, you wipe down your pets whenever they come in from outside, change your clothes and shoes as soon as you get back in, and use an air purifier to filter out most of it.

3. Dust Mites

While dust mites may indeed be microscopic in their size, their impact on our lives is infinitely bigger. They are one of the most common allergy and asthma triggers indoors and are hard to drive away as they thrive in warm environments and feed off human skin flakes.

 While they have environmental preferences, they can be found virtually anywhere in the house. The only real way to drive them back is to keep on cleaning and dusting. Using a vacuum with a HEPA filter is the best way to control allergies, and it’s recommended you wear a mask while doing so.

The cold also tends to kill dust mites, so if you want to drive them from a specific item, like a stuffed toy for example, you could put it in the freezer for a few hours.

4. Cockroaches

While not a problem for everyone, cockroaches are a large issue in warmer climates and densely-populated city areas, to the point where the Environmental Protection Agency deems them largely responsible for allergy and asthma problems wherever they are present.

This is due to the fact that their saliva and feces produce potent allergens, and the only way to counter their effects is to rid your home of them.

Apart from calling on the services of a professional exterminator, you should also block any cracks and crevices in your walls and windows, keep the lids on all of your containers, and essentially follow good hygienic practices.