Listen to Your Home; It may be trying to tell you Something
Could it be your home that is making you feel bad? Do you have constant headaches, sinus and ear infections, runny, itchy, eyes and noses? Do you feel dizzy or lightheaded, sick to your 
stomach or out of breath? Some of these symptoms can be caused by your own home. Check with your allergist and find out just what things you are allergic to. Your home can hold a myriad of allergens that can affect your health, make you miserable, and even cause death. Your home may be warning you of a serious problem.
A Clean Home Will Relieve Your Allergies
First off, go and buy yourself some allergy free face masks. Giving your home a good spring cleaning could relieve a lot of allergy symptoms. Dust mites are all over your home. You can’t eradicate them, but you can lessen your contact with them. So use the mask while you are cleaning. Dust mites live everywhere, but most human contact with them is in our own beds. They thrive on dead skin cells. You can buy pillow, mattress and box spring covers (not the old hard plastic ones) that will keep dust mites from getting out and getting in. You will also need to wash your bedding every week with very hot water. The heat of the hot water will kill them and you could also put stuffed animals and pillows in the freezer which will also kill them. I guess; if you put them in big, sealed plastic bags; but the thought of putting dust mites in the freezer with my food is, well…I think I will stick with the washing machine and dryer or just throw it away. Dust mites also love dampness. Keeping a de-humidifier in your room can help.
Next, the bathroom can cause many health hazards. Mold allergies can escalate into asthma and the worse the mold the worse your health risk. Keep mold at bay, by using bleach solutions and industrial mold killers if your mold has found its way under the tile to your sheet rock. Make sure you stay on top of cracks in tiles, grout, back splashes and under sinks where mold loves to live. And speaking about cleaning chemicals; keep them far out of reach of the children. Keep the lids tightly on and do not reuse empty bottles or mix chemicals. All such actions can be deadly.
Animals
Most of us love animals. As puppies or kittens they are especially cuddly and cute, but, they can cause an allergic person severe health problems. Their hair and dander can cause not only sneezing, runny, itchy, watery eyes and noses; they can be the underlying reason for asthma. It is important to keep animals out of the place you spend the most time; like your bedroom. And use air purifiers in the rooms where the animals spend the most time.
Dust and Vacuum
With your mask on, you will need to dust the normal areas like furniture and blinds, but also don’t forget the ceiling fans, the air vents, the floors, floor and window fans, air conditioners. Buy a vacuum with a hepa filter system and keep clean of dust and dirt. Use a dry cleaning method of carpet cleaning. The moisture in the carpets will attract dust mites and maybe even mold. Don’t forget to dust your books, mites and mold love them. Change the filters in your furnace and air intakes every three month and use an 8 or higher rated filter.
If you have just put in new carpet you need to be especially mindful of the smell. New carpet lets off a gas that is harmful to you. If you are getting constant headaches and vomiting you may need to take the carpet out. Wood floors are the best for those with allergies. Even after you have cleaned all this and you are still suffering you may want to call in the professionals to clean. Remember, when you are looking for a new home, spend some time there. Find out if the furnace and air conditioning units are yearly maintained, if there is new carpets, make sure that you can air the house out good and then smell the carpets. If they still smell strongly, you may want to rethink or go with wood floors. Make sure your inspector checks all gas valves and piping. Buy yourself a good carbon-dioxide monitor as well. Now go clean and live well.
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