How To Make Your Home Asthma-Friendly
Anyone navigating life with asthma is used to making some compromises. After all, you must always think about how certain activities or products will affect your asthma, even at home. You’re not alone if you’ve ever struggled with how to make your home asthma-friendly.
To maintain an asthma-friendly home, you must dust and vacuum weekly to remove allergens, like dust mites. It’s also a good idea to buy dust-mite-proof pillowcases and hypoallergenic mattress covers, then wash your bedding weekly. Never smoke tobacco indoors or use synthetic fragrances at home, or else it may trigger your asthma.
Look for asthma-friendly fragrances, like candles made of beeswax and soy. Follow along as we explore how to make your home asthma-friendly.
How To Avoid Asthma Triggers At Home
The best way to avoid asthma triggers at home is to make some changes and improve your cleaning checklist. You can do this without spending too much time or money if you do a few key things, starting with:
1. Your Bedding
Most people wash their clothes weekly, but not everyone washes their bedding that often. That's because it takes time, which is difficult when balancing work, chores, and personal obligations. However, sleeping on dirty bedding can trigger your asthma and throw your allergies into a downward spiral.
A bed is the perfect setting for dust mites, and they won’t go away on their own. Washing your bedding weekly is one of the easiest ways to make your home asthma-friendly. It’s also a good idea to buy some dust-mite-proof pillow covers to prevent further issues. Allergen-proof mattresses are also great investments, but hypoallergenic mattress covers are good alternatives if you can’t afford one. You may also want to think twice about letting your pets sleep in your bed. The dander they shed can make your bed a major trigger point for your asthma.
2. A Healthy Humidity Level
Many people don’t necessarily think too much about their home’s indoor humidity level. However, it can affect your asthma and allergies. For example, a 50%-60% humidity level can trigger your asthma in several ways, as it can cause mold and mildew to grow.
Excessive humidity can also support dust mites and irritate your lungs. When the humidity level drops below 30%, your airways can become dry and inflamed. This is especially bad during the fall and winter, as viruses can live longer in dry air. Ideally, try to maintain a humidity level between 30% and 50%. You can use a dehumidifier if your home is too humid, and a humidifier if your home is too dry. Doing so will help prevent mold growth and make your home more asthma-friendly.
3. Remove Pet Hair
Proud pet parents love their fur babies, but they can’t deny how messy they are. That’s because nearly all dogs and cats shed hair, which can create a big mess. Pet hair itself may not trigger everyone’s asthma, but the dander attached to it certainly can. That’s especially true if you don’t regularly remove the pet hair and dander from the surfaces in your home.
The best way to do so is to vacuum the floors using a HEPA filter vacuum to ensure you get all the dander. It also helps to clean your furniture with reusable pet hair removers throughout the week. This may seem like overkill, but you can’t say you live in an asthma-friendly home if there is pet dander everywhere. Regularly grooming your pets with hypoallergenic shampoo can minimize how much dander your pets spread. It’s also worth looking into hypoallergenic dog and cat food to make them less itchy, so they don’t spread so much dander.
4. Don’t Use Strong Fragrances
Whether it be scented candles or cleaning chemicals, using fragrant products can trigger your asthma. Scented candles, air fresheners, fabric softeners, incense, colognes, perfumes, and aerosol sprays can all trigger asthma. This is a tough pill to swallow if you want your home and clothing to smell good, but that doesn’t mean you have to smell bad. You can still use many natural products to make your house smell good. However, synthetic fragrances and products release Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which can cause bronchial constriction.
You can find asthma-safe candles made of beeswax, coconut, or soy, which shouldn’t cause problems. You can also use simmer pots to make your home smell nice without irritating your airways. All you need to do is fill a pot with water and add some nice natural scents, then boil it. That way, you can mildly increase the humidity level and make your home smell nice without releasing chemicals.
5. Run Distilled Water In Your Humidifier
As we mentioned above, having too little humidity can make your airways feel dry. While having too much humidity is bad, you can achieve an ideal 30%-50% humidity level with a humidifier. However, you should only put distilled or demineralized water in your humidifier.
Putting hard water in your dehumidifier can release minerals into the air and irritate your lungs. If your tap water doesn’t contain excessive minerals, you may be able to safely use it. That said, using hard tap water can make the air harsh and leave mineral dust on your furniture. Not only will you inhale the harsh air, but the mineral dust may later trigger your asthma again. In that case, you can either use a water softener or buy distilled water from a local store.
6. Ban Smoking In Your House
Whether you smoke or someone else in the house does, you must ban smoking indoors if you have asthma. It’s no secret that smoke is terrible for your lungs, even if you’re not the one smoking. Secondhand smoke can trigger anyone’s asthma and irritate your lungs even if you have no respiratory issues.
The smoky, lingering air can continually irritate your lungs and throat long after someone finishes the cigarette. An asthma-friendly home is impossible if you or your roommates smoke in the house. Burning wood in your fireplace is also bad for asthma, as it releases fine particulate matter into the air.
7. Eliminate Pests
The sight and even the thought of pests in your home can easily make you uncomfortable. Having pests in your home is much worse if you have asthma. That’s because pests like cockroaches and mice leave lots of triggering saliva and waste behind.
Up to 41% of the U.S. population is allergic to cockroaches. A cockroach allergy, paired with asthma, can make life at home quite difficult. Regularly decluttering your home, storing food in airtight containers, and covering your trash cans can deter pests. It’s also important to install weatherstripping or door sweeps to keep pests out of your house. This can also help you save some money on energy bills, as your home won’t lose heated or air-conditioned air.
8. Clean As Often As Possible
Most people don’t look forward to cleaning their homes. However, it’s necessary, and it can have a big impact on how bad your asthma is at home. While you’re supposed to dust your home weekly, not everyone does that. If you wait too long between cleanings, the excessive dust and dander will likely overwhelm you and make you cough. Conversely, cleaning regularly means that your house will never be too dirty when you clean. That way, you won’t kick up so much dust and dander, which would otherwise trigger your asthma.
If your house is particularly dusty, you may want to wear an N95 mask to protect your nose, mouth, and lungs. Asthma-friendly cleaning products, such as Seventh Generation and Vital Oxide, are less likely to irritate your lungs. Always inspect the label to make sure a particular product doesn’t contain any VOCs, like toluene and benzene.
Summing It Up
The best way to make your home asthma-friendly is to vacuum the floors, dust the surfaces, and wash your bedding weekly. It’s also important to get rid of synthetic fragrances, as they can irritate your lungs and cause inflammation. Maintain a humidity level between 30% and 50% to ensure the air isn’t too moist or too dry.
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Nick Durante is a professional writer with a primary focus on home improvement. When he is not writing about home improvement or taking on projects around the house, he likes to read and create art. He is always looking towards the newest trends in home improvement.
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