Indoor allergies

[rh71]

My kids (and myself to some extent) start to sniffle soon after waking up from their beds. We have carpeting in bedrooms and area rugs in the living room (all for comfort) where they spend the other large portion of their time, which I'm sure doesn't help. Is this a common issue (even without carpeting?) and do things like vacuuming more often and changing sheets weekly actually help? We've switched to allergen pillow covers and run air purifiers 24/7 (in bedrooms) and also got a washer with allergen mode (high heat for longer). I don't want to have to keep giving them allergy medicine daily. I'm even thinking of getting a Roomba to clean twice weekly, but like investing in air purifiers, I'm not sure that'll even help. I will say though that weekly vacuuming currently captures about an inch-high worth of dust in the canister.

Maybe getting a weekly house cleaner to come through with solvents would improve things? We don't exactly dust every corner of the house nor any of the blinds. Thoughts?

 

[BarkingGhostar]

You home may also 'breath' too well. Mine does. Makes for a hell of an amplified dust problem. I've given up. Being only less than a mile from line of sight of the busy Interstate only adds to the problem. You can see how dusty and dirty our front doors are on a covered from stoop. We haven't had pets in about 3 years and removed all carpeting from the first floor (none ever existed in the finish basement), but those floors still get dusty.

I say all of this because I believe it is probably the reason why I have near perpetual sinus allergies and issues (infections). And until I remove every light switch and outlet wall plate, every register and returns, etc., and seal each and every one of them, and then replace the weather stripping on all doors and windows, and then sacrifice some chickens for good measure, I will doubt I will see a reduction in dust because I believe my fat ass--with its wonderfully healthy skin--generates a large portion of the dust.

 

[rh71]

True we did a home efficiency eval and it scored quite low on that suction test. Not sure if dust really comes in that way though - we're also on a really quiet street.

Or maybe it's all their stuffed animals they sleep with...

 

[nakedfrog]

Have you gotten any allergy testing done?

 

[Mayne]

currently sitting here in the dark with sun glasses on. I'm not sure what i'm allergic to but its pretty fucking horrible...wake up to gummed together eyes and blurred vision. I need help.

 

[OverVolt]

I have a similar issue caused by silicone contacts. I feel like silicone allergies classically present this way with a somewhat irritated/dry nose and throat that flares up into sneezing/coughing first thing in the morning of after a shower or that kind of thing and then gets better for awhile after that.

Silicone allergies seem to flare right as you remove the allergen, oddly enough. Like when you get most of what you're allergic to off of you in the shower and such. Or right when you leave the house if its something in your house. Its actually because you removed yourself from the allergen that you adapted to.

 

[IronWing]

If you have forced air heat or central AC, changing the filters regularly can help. Using a pleated filter helps. Losing the carpet would help. Look for mold. If the house ever flooded, you may have to look for mold under the carpet and under any linoleum. Get rid of any stored cardboard (roach food). Bleach is your new best friend.

 

[Kazukian]

There's so much involved, do you have pets?

Done any allergy testing?

 

[Imp]

I only have allergies in the spring and fall. I think it coincides with pollination periods. The stuff probably gets in from outside, but I also live with a plant hoarder who has stuffed every window full of plants, so who knows.

 

[NoTine42]

Are you sure it's not a household or laundry detergent allergy?

That almost sounds like my Tide allergy (which most notably flares up if I'm ironing a shirt)

 

[rh71]

We did allergy testing for one of them as an infant/toddler when he had ezcema and it came back with the usual suspects (dust, etc.). I'll have to look into the Tide allergy.

We did construction on the house so we are sure there's no existing mold. No pets, and this didn't happen during the summer so it's got something to do with the air now. Not sure how pollen gets inside (other than on clothes that they change out of right after coming home) and how they're so sensitive to it. That's pretty much a lost battle, but I want to be able to keep it at a minimum by removing it. In short, I want to know if vacuuming more often (Roomba) will even help.

Anyone still get dust allergies despite not having carpet?

 

[Kazukian]

Honestly, carpeting is one of the absolute worst things for people with allergies. I don't care how much you clean/vacuum, it's still an allergic person's nightmare.

Also, many people are allergic to dust mite feces, get a mattress cover.

Rather than getting air filters, open a window, outside air is cleaner than you can manage to scrub your indoor air.

So:

Rip up the carpet, cover your mattresses, open the windows

 

[OverVolt]

I stereotype against people who use Tide... no joke. One of the most overwhelmingly potent detergent fragances and it doesn't really agree with me. People who use it seem kinda crazy to me like rh71... so I'm not surprised. As a bonus you can pretty much smell who you want to avoid amirite!?

If you smell that bad that you need to cover up literally every single load of laundry you do with fragrance you hidin some dark secrets mang.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Might be worth doing an air quality test. Also check your furnace/AC filters, maybe even get your ducts cleaned. In theory getting your ducts cleaned may worsen the issue temporary until the dislodged dust particles resettle, but at least it will get rid of the worse of it within the ducts.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I stereotype against people who use Tide... no joke. One of the most overwhelmingly potent detergent fragances and it doesn't really agree with me. People who use it seem kinda crazy to me like rh71... so I'm not surprised. As a bonus you can pretty much smell who you want to avoid amirite!?

If you smell that bad that you need to cover up literally every single load of laundry you do with fragrance you hidin some dark secrets mang.

I find Tide is actually the less offensive one, I tried to switch to Sunlight as a troubleshooting step to see if Tide was the cause of a skin irritation I was having and holy crap, I may as well be spraying lemon pledge directly into my nostrils if I'm going to wash my clothes in that. Switched back to Tide.

 

[rh71]

I stereotype against people who use Tide... no joke. One of the most overwhelmingly potent detergent fragances and it doesn't really agree with me. People who use it seem kinda crazy to me like rh71... so I'm not surprised. As a bonus you can pretty much smell who you want to avoid amirite!?

If you smell that bad that you need to cover up literally every single load of laundry you do with fragrance you hidin some dark secrets mang.

The fuck are you going on about? The scent isn't that different from any others to me so why do you think I gave a shit about what laundry detergent I use in the first place? Maybe if I was a housewife and relegated to thinking about these things...

Since it doesn't agree with you, it must be everyone else. Apply that logic to dust allergies. Must be everyone else who doesn't have an issue that's the problem. Sounds legit.

 

[IronWing]

The science is mixed on laundry detergent allergies. So I will disregard science in favor of my own antidote. Tide gave me a t-shirt and underwear shaped rash. The rash went away when I switched to that other brand.


The antidote for bait is more bait.

 

[foghorn67]

I dumped Tide and tried Arm & Hammer. It's okay as a detergent, but after a Costco sized container done, no rash yet.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[rh71]

BTW, I just checked and we're using Tide Free & Gentle - read the bottle.

Also, if it's the detergent/clothes, they would have the sniffles 24/7 including outside and school, which they don't. It's definitely something only when they're home.