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Summer is a great time of year unless you are affected by airborne allergens that thicken the air during the summer months. Here are 5 actions that you can take that will literally clear your air and your head making summer a fun time for you in spite of your allergies.

Clean Your Space Often – Dust alone is often a trigger for allergies, but add the dust mite which is usually found in dust and your allergies can receive a double whammy. Dusting with a damp cloth or mop is more likely to capture the dust rather than sending it into the air for you to inhale or ingest.

Vacuuming is also a great way to capture the dust rather than spreading it around. Opt for a vacuum with a HEPA filter that can eliminate the particulates for good.

Be sure to launder bed linens once a week with water that is at least 140 degrees Fahrenheit. This is a temperature that the dust mite cannot survive, and will kill many of them before they can reproduce.

Keep Humidity Low – Leaks in the bathroom, kitchen and basement areas can increase humidity and cause a spike in the mold count. Keeping these areas dry will drastically decrease the airborne mold spores that are likely to be in your air. Use the bathroom fan after showers and baths to dry out the room quickly.

Put as many indoor plants outside on the porch or patio. Having moist soil indoor because of numerous house plants can also encourage mold growth.

Choose Outdoor Time Carefully – The best time for outdoor activity is early in the morning and late in the afternoon to evening. Dry windy days are good times to choose indoor activities.

Limit Outdoor Air Exchange – Keeping windows and doors closed helps you control what comes into your home or office from the outside. And even though some pollen, dust, and mold spores will always enter as you come and go, using the air conditioner rather than fans greatly reduces the number of allergens introduced into your indoor air.

Use the air conditioner in the car when traveling, and if possible park in a garage to minimize the amount of particulates that settle on your car when it is not in use.

Continually Filter Indoor Air-Using an air cleaner with a HEPA (or high efficiency particle arresting) filter is probably one of the most important actions that you can take to keep indoor air quality high.

By definition a HEPA filter removes 99.97% of airborne particles that are greater than.3 microns in size. This means that for every 10,000 airborne particles that are floating in the air, this type of filtration will remove 99,997 of them. This kind of purifier can eliminate a large number of the airborne particles that cause allergy flare-ups-dust, dust mites, mold spores, pet dander, and even bacteria and viruses.

Putting this plan of action into place by taking the five steps above will make a huge difference in how you feel, and how you feel about summer.

Millions of Americans suffer from allergies, most of us do not know exactly what we are allergic to, only that we experience the symptoms of the average allergy sufferer. There are so many places to look when searching for what one is allergic to. What you may not know is that millions of Americans are allergic to dust mites and the allergens they carry around. The protein substances in the their feces produce antibodies in humans who are allergic when these are inhaled or touch the skin. These antibodies cause the release of histamines which leads to nasal congestion, swelling and irritation of the upper respiratory passages. These dust mites are everywhere. Beds are a prime habitat. A typical used mattress may have anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million mites inside. Ten percent of the weight of a two year old pillow can be comprised of dead mites and their droppings.
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So how does one limit their exposure to these mites? There are a few simple places to start, your bed and bedding. Experts say the best place to start is your bed. A premium mattress cover, or a mattress made from dust mite resistant materials such as latex can make a huge difference. Studies show that Latex mattresses are 300% more resistant to dust mites that traditional mattresses.

You can also wash your pillow, sheets and comforter in very hot water. Water over 130 degrees Fahrenheit will kill the dustmites and their eggs. You should run these items through the wash at least every two weeks.

Keep your home clean the bedroom should be frequently cleaned including dusting and vacuuming the rugs beside and underneath the bed. This will help minimize the dustmites in the room, be sure not to use a dry cloth or a broom when cleaning as this will just disperse the mites and allergens throughout the room.

Controlling dust mites in the bedroom can have a big affect in the quality of the sleep you are getting. Symptoms of those who are bothered by the dustmites include, hay fever, watering eyes, runny nose, swollen blue colored skin under the eyes, itchy nose or roof of mouth, sneezing, cough, postnasal drip, and even asthma or difficulty in breathing. If you or a child are waking frequently in the night sneezing, sniffling, or coughing you may be losing a great deal of your quality sleep to the dust mites and the problems they create.