Cleaning to Reduce Dust and Allergens

As the owner of a cleaning service and a sufferer of seasonal allergies I am often asked: “What is the best way to clean your House   or Office  to reduce airborne irritants?” For serious sufferers of seasonal allergies the best answer is to not think of cleaning as a onetime event but an ongoing process. The first step in that process is prevention. Once preventive practices are put firmly into place you can move onto reducing the dust and allergens.

When it comes to keeping a home or office clean the most time effective strategy to control the amount of dust and allergens in the air is prevention. The easiest and probably most effective method is the use of walk off mats. Walk off mats allows anyone entering your home or office to walk of the outdoor dust and grim before tracking it into your facility. When shopping for walk off mats which are available at janitorial supply stores, wholesale clubs and even home décor stores be shore to choose a mat that is long enough to someone entering to step on with both feet. The mats do an excellent job or preventing dirt from getting into your facility where it would be much more difficult to remove. Once a week vacuum or shake out the rug to remove any loose dirt so that it can continue to do its job of keeping your facility clean.

Another often overlooked preventive measure is the regular cleaning of your HVAC filters. It is easy to forget about them but they all the air in your home or office routinely circulates through them. To clean a filter you must first remove it from the system inspect it for damages than using a slightly damp (not moisture) cloth and remove the excess dust.  If you want to keep the amount of airborne allergens and dust to a minimum be sure to clean your filters at least monthly and consider changing them every six months to a year.

Now that you are helping to control the amount of dust and irritants that enter your home or office what can you do eliminate what is already there as well keep it control it in the future. A regular cleaning program will do much more for both your health and peace of mind than occasional all out blitzes. The first step in that program is the regular dusting of your space. To keep airborne irritants low and depending on the home, building or office you may need to dust anywhere from daily to once every two weeks.

Cleaning dust can be one of the most difficult cleaning jobs especially for someone who suffers from seasonal allergies. However a few tips can have you on your way to a much cleaning home or space without much irritation.

The first thing to consider is your own health. If you are already bothered by the amount of dust in your home or office than cleaning it is only going to make it worse. Cleaning even with the best techniques is going to at least temporally stir up the dust and that can irritate your sinus. Before you tackle this task on a particularly dusty area I would strongly recommend the use of a mask to reduce the amount of dust you inhale.

Now that you are ready to dust you have your choice of two choices of dusting methods. The easier and simplest method is feather dusting. Feather dusting is effective at dusting hard to reach places but can be ineffective against higher dust areas. For the best results use a slightly damp microfiber towel. Microfiber is more absorbent than terry or cotton towels which help to reduce the amount of dust in the air.

Once you have selected your dusting method hand wipe all surfaces starting with the ceiling fans and light fixtures than work your way down and around the room in a clockwise direction this way you will not knock dust onto anything you have already dusted and it will be harder to miss anything. Once you have finished dusting the light fixtures and ceiling fans, start dusting wall art, furniture and other items around the room. Make sure that you pick up and replace each and every individual item. If you are using microfiber towels you’ll want to keep a supply handy and replace them often as they become soiled.

Once the dusting is complete move on to vacuuming. Many people overlook vacuuming but vacuuming is the probably the number one factor in reducing allergens and dust in your home or office. When vacuuming use a strong vacuum to remove a deep down dust. The best measurement of a vacuum’s strength is cfs the higher the number the better. If you can afford it choice a model that is equipped with a HEPA filter to make sure all the small particles are filtered out of the air instead of spread around the room.

Start vacuuming from the furthest corner and do so in a w pattern making sure you get every inch of the carpet as you leave the room. If indoor air quality is a major concern you should really consider vacuuming daily some smaller homes and office however can get by fine with weekly vacuuming.

In conclusion improving indoor air quality through cleaning for allergy suffers is a simple matter. First prevent as much dust and dirt from entering your home or office with walk off mats, regular clean your walk off mats, dust regularly preferable with a hand towel and vacuum as much as is reasonable if you follow  these few simple steps and you can be on your way to enjoying a cleaner and healthier environment.