Allergy Triggers In Your Living Space

Do you find yourself sneezing or having a stuffy nose whenever you’re in your home, yet when you walk out everything is all fine and dandy? The indoor air space has a higher concentration of allergens, and trigger reactions that can be frustrating. Here are some of the common places with lots of allergens:

• The upholstery

From the sofas to the mattresses and throw pillows, they build up lots of dust, particles, hold onto pet dander, all through to the mounds of faecal waste left behind by dust mites. When the upholstery is disturbed, the allergens get raised into the immediate airspace – such as what occurs when someone sits on the sofa, or when you get into bed at night. This results in issues like incessant sneezing as you lounge back on your favourite sofa, or nasal congestion immediately you turn in for the night. It takes away your personal comfort, and those with existing respiratory conditions like bronchitis get their conditions worsened. The routine vacuuming comes in handy to reduce the amount of dust that piles, up, but a deep upholstery cleaning will still be required to get rid of the soiling that will be left behind. 

• The blinds and curtains

As the air flows in and out of the building, some of the dust particles in it accumulate on the blinds and curtains. What’s more, these are usually overlooked during the routine cleaning processes, resulting in them having a high concentration of dust. It’s recommended that you wipe the blinds and dust the curtains regularly, at least once a week, and have the curtains thoroughly washed biweekly or monthly. 

• Carpets

The structure of the crept makes it a large air filter, trapping dust particles floating around, smoke, pollen, and other particles, holding them within the lush fibres. With the level of traffic that it faces, the soiling that gets scraped of the bottom of people’s shoes adds to the grime, and this gradually breaks down over time. It contributes to the increasingly fine dust particles, that get raised into the air whenever a person walks on the affected section – especially as the concentration of the allergens increases over time. With the carpet material having the capacity of holding in multiple times its own weight in dirt, scheduling a routine cleaning for your unit will also go a long way in improving the indoor air quality. 

• The HVAC system

Here, the allergens are spread around the house, making the HVAC worked on as part of the house cleaning sessions key. It’s recommended that you schedule the HVAC cleaning done at least once every 4-6 months. You should also have the air filters changed regularly, based on the recommendation of the manufacturer. 

Selecting The Right Cleaning Company

When outsourcing the cleaning task to a contractor, you want to ensure that you’re engaging with a professional team. Cleaning companies have different modes of operation. Take hiring an upholstery cleaning company for instance. When the sofas are being worked on, procedures used vary from dry cleaning and shampooing, all through to hot water extraction. The mode selected for the cleaning will vary based on the particular type of upholstery being dealt with, since this will determine the procedures that will be appropriate for it; the level of soiling, which directs the systems and cleaning power required to achieve the desired result; all through the resources of the particular company, since getting industrial-grade machinery for the task requires heavy capital investments, and a rookie company may not have acquired it, causing the task to take a far much longer than had been anticipated. 

The training and skill-level of the personnel involved also comes into focus. You want to deal with a team that has been proficiently trained, and one that has experience providing the service for long. Here a team that has been working in residential and commercial establishments for years will no doubt give you more confidence when they work on your property. 

Licencing and insurance coverage are also key. Firstly, you want to ensure that you’re dealing with a legally recognized company, not some fly-by-night types who expose you to plenty of risks. With the insurance, this is for your protection and that of the company as well. Accidents can happen, even with the most experienced companies. Industry-best practice requires that the company offering the service acquires insurance coverage catering to the client’s property, and the staff providing the service. That way, in case there is an accident whilst the cleaning is being carried out, you won’t have to worry about facing liabilities. 

Additional aspects like eco-friendly cleaning come into focus. For instance, during the upholstery cleaning, you don’t want harmful chemicals being left all over the furniture, as this will put its users at risk. You also don’t want a situation where there are toxic fumes that are produced, which contribute to reducing the indoor air quality, putting the household occupants at risk. Hiring the services of a company that prioritises eco-conscious products and processes will enable you to ensure that the task will be performed without posing a threat to the occupants in the house, or surrounding water bodies when the cleaning solutions used are disposed of. This also has the welcome bonus of reducing your carbon footprint. 

The firm’s reputation is critical. What do other customers have to say about the quality of services they received? Check out the reviews left behind on its local business listings and directories, all through to the comments on the various social media platforms. This will give you an idea of what you can expect when you hire the firm. Be keen on the negative reviews – specifically how the company has addressed the aggrieved client. No company has a 100% perfection rate when it comes to service delivery. Here the focus will be on the follow-ups that were conducted to address the customer’s issue; which is usually followed by an update to the review. It will show you the importance that the company places on customer satisfaction. 

Allergy Triggers In Your Living Space