'Tis the season for sniffing, snorting, coughing and nose-wiping. From ragweed to fungus to cedar, the air out there is jam-packed with irritants. Aside from making an appointment with an allergist and placing yourself on a schedule of medication, there's not much you can do about it, if you've been blessed with the allergy gene. So you figure you'll remain in doors as much as possible during allergy season. Unfortunately, our homes sometimes aren't much better. When you consider all of the irritants that might be floating around in the air inside your home - dust, chemicals from household cleaners and smoke, to name but a few - it's little wonder that remaining indoors doesn't seem to do much for your incessant sniffing. And consider that not only do you have those irritants in your breathing space; they're confined to a restricted space.

You'll never be able to eliminate the indoor sources of your allergies completely, but you can take several measures which will help cut down on the amount of time you spend sneezing, watering, coughing and feeling all-around miserable. For starters, let's address the subject of pets. Sorry, folks. Fido and Fifi are prime suspects - we all know that, although some of us choose to deny it. If giving up your pets is simply out of the question - and understandably, it probably is - try restricting them to a section of your home instead of allowing them to have free reign over your entire house. If you have an enclosed back yard or patio, all the better. When you let your pets back indoors, allow them to roam within a one- or two-room area. If you're a pet owner, adhere to a regular schedule of vacuuming, but make sure that you remain particularly vigilant about the rooms occupied by your pets.

Second, dust - there's no way around it, especially for those of us living in the dry, desert Southwest. For homeowners in this region of the country, you can literally write your name on the surface of a table dusted less than 24 hours earlier. Depending upon the material of which your tables and other surfaces are made, you may consider wiping a slightly damp cloth across your dust-collecting furniture. A semi-wet cloth will collect far more dust than a dry one, which often will do little more than push the dust off the surface, send it flying into the air and either to the floor or back onto your furniture.

Speaking of dust, you've probably never considered the hidden surfaces where this insidious irritant lurks: above doorways, on your mini-blinds, at the base and tops of your furniture, along chair legs, even in your mattresses. You'll want to dust your furniture, above doorways, on blinds on ceiling fans at least once a week, especially if you live in one of the "Dust Bowl" states. Your rugs and curtains - particularly heavy drapes - also collect considerable amounts of dust. Take them outside on a regular basis, and shake them clean. As far as your mattresses, purchase a handheld vacuum, and clean them regularly.

Your vacuum cleaner, too, can contribute to the spread of dust in your home, especially if you haven't changed the vacuum bag in quite a while. You'll inevitably see dust flying about your house as you run your machine. Make sure you change your vacuum bag regularly. It won't take long before you need to change your vacuum bags if you're vacuuming your home enough. Ideally, you should vacuum every room in your home once if not twice weekly.

Your air filters, furnace filters and air vents are worth mentioning because they're usually out of sight and/or out of mind. Adhering to a seasonal home maintenance schedule will help you remember to change all of your filters and clear your vents before they have the opportunity to make you sick. Fireplaces that aren't cleaned regularly can wreak havoc with your lungs. Have your chimneys cleaned every season, and keep your fireplace doors closed at all times when your fireplace isn't in use. If you don't have doors in front of your fireplace, place a screen in front of the opening to prevent the transmission of particles. And since we're on the subject of smoke, it hardly bears repeating that if you're waging a serious battle against allergies, you'll need to insist that all of your visitors who smoke do so outside.

Within your bathrooms, you'll often find mold and mildew buildup in your showers and tubs, along wall surfaces (particularly where the floor meets the wall), on the ceiling and in your vanity area. Buy yourself a mildew remover, and use it liberally. Keep a spray bottle in your shower, and use it daily. In addition, many tub-and-tile cleaners currently on the market allow consumers to spray the surfaces of their showers and tubs following each use, helping to stave off the accumulation of mold and mildew.

A note about household cleaning agents: While cleaning the rooms of your house with these products, keep in mind that some of them contain harsh and potentially hazardous chemicals that should not be inhaled in large doses, of course, for reasons beyond your allergies. In a sense, keeping your home clean can present a Catch-22 situation. If you're going to be engaging in heavy "spring" cleaning or other seasonal deep cleaning, open a window to provide ventilation.

Keeping your home as pollutant-free as possible will allow you to maintain a healthy home environment that should provide a refuge from the outdoor elements you can't control during allergy season.

Published: October 12, 2000

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