My kiddos noses are always running...especially when waking up in the morning. I am not sure if we have mold or they are super sensitive to dust. But, we know they have allergies to dust mites. But, we would like to be proactive. What have you done to help your kiddos with allergies in the house? Homeopathy? Constant vaccuuming? Did you get an air purifier? Do those work? What is the best one? Are there certain plants that are good?
Have you ever had your house checked for mold?
Hardwood floors. I know it's a big expense, but carpet is a dirt and dust magnet. No matter how frequent the vacuuming. My wife has terrible allergies and every house we have owned, carpet was pulled out before we ever moved in.
We have had our house tested for mold. There were levels of it in certain rooms, but we are in Florida, so that is common. My son's room had the highest concentration. They recommended new windows (which we did, house was 20 years old) and an air purifier. I have one by Vornado which is great, and I just purchased a smaller one from Vicks for our baby's room that works well. I hang those Damp Rid moisture absorbers in both boys' closets and change our air filters every other month.
I was going to suggest exactly the same things Cheryl suggested, almost word for word!
If they sleep with stuffed animals/dolls with stuffing, those need to be washed, too. If they can't be washed, you can put them in a black plastic garbage bag and put them out in the sun for several hours or all day. If there is any chance someone might think its trash, be sure to put a note on it. :)
Another thing I thought of is the cedars in your area may be a cause for their allergies. They mess up my husband and me.
http://www.nosneezes.com/pollen.html
Edited: Washing our kid's hair every night when their seasonal allergies are bad helps a lot!! When I don't, they wake up sneezing. Since your area may be the problem, I would try it for a week and see if that helps.
Get the pleated air filters and change them monthly. You don't have to buy the over priced 3m ones but any brand will do and get your unit cleaned to remove any build up of dirt inside too if you haven't done it at least once a year. Take shoes off at the door before coming inside. Dust and vacuum at least once a week (you should notice a decrease in dust after changing the air filters monthly). Wash bedding and bath towels in HOT water. This kills any type of mites. Run the bed pillows through a hot wash too at least every few months. Vacuum the bed mattresses and put them in the full bagged style mattress covers.
Good luck
S.
I would start in the bedroom since this is where the problem starts...they wake up in the AM with runny noses...there are probably dust mites and other allergens in their beds.
Wash the pillows in hot water and dry in hot heat. Then purchase the Allercare case to put over the pillow.
Wash the sheets and bedding (mattress protector, comforter, etc.) in hot water and hot dryer.
In an old spice jar put salt and baking soda - mix together and shake on mattress - let sit for about 15 minutes - ensure that it gets in the seams as well...then vacuum the mattress..put mattress in a allergen sack.
then wash the walls in the room, take the curtains down and wash them as well. if you can go without curtains and do something like vinyl blinds instead, do that.
If you have carpeting and can afford hardwood floors, do that. If you can't then get a professional in there and steam clean the carpets so you can start fresh...does this make sense?
Give your children their allergy medicine BEFORE they go to bed instead of in the AM.
The air filter in your AC and heater needs to be changed regularly. If you don't do that - it doesn't matter how many air purifiers you get - your air will still be dirty. There are good air filters out there..you can purchase them from Home Depot. We change ours weekly. Yes. that is expensive but it works for us.
I hope this helps!
Air the house, especially on cooler nights. Clean the air ways, carpet clean or replace old carpet. Try not to use so much of the powder freshener and strong chemicals, they just sit in your carpet. Get a good vacum cleaner /steam cleaner. Any plant is always helpful.
Ha! Cedar park.. I wonder why you all have allergies! Cedar is insidious.
Plus the drought so the dust is awful.
Our daughter was very sensitive to the dust and had asthma.
So ears ago we got rid of all carpets, we no longer have drapes, and I used to place our daughters stuffed animals in the dryer on cool air dry, to make sure the dust was sucked out. I also had to wash and dry her comforter at least ever 2 weeks (I purchased 2 so when company came over, we placed the non faded one on her bed).
We had a Hunter electric filter in her room that ran all day long, we kept her bedroom door closed so it could be a sanctuary for her. It also worked like a white noise machine.. Bonus!
The manufacture suggest the filter be changed every 6 to 8 weeks, but I found during really bad allergy seasons, that filter had to be changed every 3 weeks! I mean it was covered in gunk! I always tried to keep 3 or 4 filters handy, because we went through them so fast. Same with the air conditioner/heating filter for your whole house. It changed our lives.
My friend sells Shaklee and I think that they have some of the best purifiers around... if you e-mail her she will send you a site. A friend of ours husband has Lou Gherig's disease and researched all the purifiers and ended up with Shaklee's and that is how she ended up going into business with the company. They have both tried to get me involved but I'd rather sell jewelry and cards and write! lol!
____@____.com.
I've suffered allergies since I was 16. Besides the environment being polluted and the toxins we breathe can be harmful my suggestion would be to remove all wall-to-wall carpeting. It's the breeding zone for dustmites. Better off placing throw rugs in your living area and bedrooms, but they ought to be removed by spring time for full cleaning. I've become a totally different person. Another, if you're closets are full of clothing start reducing what you have. Dust mites definitely like packed areas. Keep off amonia, bleach or anything very toxin. The fumes damage air passage ways of your body. Living in Texas I can see why you may need an airconditioner. We have a good friend who is from Texas and now lives overseas . He loves his AC to be put on full blast during warm/hot weather. We've basically stopped using it unless there is lots of humidity or just unbearably hot weather. Filters should be cleaned a couple times of year. This is what I can offer you. I know how draining allergies can be for you and your family. Unfortunately they might have to go on meds until they get older. I use Rupafin for my allergies and Avamys nose spray (they are under another name in the states). There is no cortizone in those medications. Check with an allergist to see what he/she can give you. Be well.
Does your family take their shoes off the minute they come in the house? I have a friend whose son has major allergies and they do that. When guests come over, they don't require them to take their shoes off unless they go upstairs. The upstairs is an oasis for the kiddo.
Try this first and see if it makes an impact; that way you don't have to shell out money right away.
