Best Home Cleaning Products for Allergy Sufferers

Keep cleaning activities from triggering allergy symptoms with these tips.

Allergens are everywhere. Short of living inside a hermetically sealed bubble, it would actually be impossible to get every bit of irritating dust, dander, pollen, and mold out of your home’s air. However, with proper cleaning, you can control indoor allergens to help reduce or prevent allergy symptoms at home.

If you have allergies, you may find yourself putting off your cleaning chores because the act of cleaning actually makes you feel worse. This can happen if you use harsh cleaning products that can irritate sensitive nasal passages or inefficient cleaning methods that stir up more dust than they remove.

For a better experience, turn to the following best cleaning products for allergy sufferers.

HEPA Filtered Vacuum: When choosing a vacuum cleaner, the machine’s dirt-lifting power isn’t all you need to think about. You also need to be sure the vacuum cleaner has adequate filtration so it can capture all the dirt and dust it removes from your floors and furnishings, rather than releasing some of the particles back into the air as you clean. HEPA filters can capture 99.97 percent of particles measuring 0.3 microns or larger. Don’t be fooled by HEPA-like filters that only capture 85 to 90 percent of particles.

Swiffer Products: If you have hay fever type allergies or allergic asthma, dust is definitely your enemy. While traditional dusters can spread around more dust than they remove, a Swiffer-like product can trap dust and remove it without contaminating your indoor air. These types of products are especially helpful for dusting ceiling fans and light fixtures where dislodged dust would otherwise fall right down on top of you during cleaning.

Green Cleaning Products: Traditional cleaning products often contain ingredients like formaldehyde, ammonia, sodium lauryl sulphate, D-limonene and sodium hypochlorite, and other chemicals that can be quite irritating to your eyes, nose, and skin. You may find that using these products affects you in almost the same way as an allergen—you may have sneezing, itchy eyes, or even experience an asthma attack. To prevent your cleaning products from causing the very symptoms you’re trying to prevent, switch to green cleaning products. Baking soda and vinegar are two very helpful cleaners that are non-toxic and non-irritating to allergy sufferers.

Fragrance-Free Detergents: Because dust mites and other allergens love to live in bedding, it is important to wash your sheets and blankets regularly. But, if you have skin allergies you may discover that all this washing is causing you to break out in a rash. The culprit is most likely your detergent and/or fabric softener. Switch to a fragrance-free detergent that is specially formulated for sensitive skin, and skip the fabric softener altogether.

Don’t Forget: Your Allergy Symptoms May Also Need Medication

While keeping a clean home is an excellent way to prevent allergy attacks, obviously you cannot clean the whole world. Fortunately, you can come to Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology Medical Group to get advice and prescriptions from our expert allergists. Make your appointment today.