I am not the world’s best housekeeper. I once heard someone who had been diagnosed
with a terminal illness say that they gained considerable clarity about their
priorities upon receiving such news. She said she wished she had the time back
she’d spent cleaning and was certainly not going to spend her remaining time
doing so. Since hearing that, I have
moved cleaning much farther down on my priorities list. I
suspect my mother would vouch for that as when she last visited, I think she
could have written her name in the dust on nearly every surface in my
house! The day after she left, I was actually
home during daylight hours. With the sun
shining in I was able to see just how dirty the place was and like it or not,
cleaning had to move up on the priority list.
It was so dusty in our house, I was surprised no one was
asthmatic from all the dust. Home indoor
air quality is one of the reasons why cleaning is important. The five major indoor environmental triggers
are secondhand smoke, dust mites, pet dander, mold and pests. With many people spending 90% of their time
indoors, it is important to learn how to protect our indoor environment to
reduce asthma triggers. The USDA has a
great resource called Help Yourself to a Healthy Home that can be downloaded from the web.
Of the five major triggers, I can at least cross secondhand
smoke off the list of concerns at my own home, but I know not everyone can. We commonly think of tobacco smoke, which
with more than 40 carcinogens, is fairly well known to wreak havoc on the
function of breathing. Some other
sources of secondhand smoke can be from fireplaces, candles and gas
stoves. Limiting the use of fire in the
home and using exhaust fans over gas stoves can help improve indoor air
quality.
Dust mites are not quite as obvious, partly because they are
too small to be seen and can be found almost everywhere in the home. Some ways to reduce dust mites and in turn
improve indoor air quality are to wash sheets and blankets weekly in hot water
and use the dryer, keep indoor humidity at levels between 30-50%, when
replacing flooring consider hard floors instead of carpet and vacuum often,
even your furniture and mattresses. It
is also a good idea to replace pillows every five years and to limit stuffed
animals in bedrooms. For those items
that cannot be washed, consider freezing.
I’ll admit that in my house cleaning fury recently, I did find my
husband’s duffle bag in the chest freezer. It wasn’t there to kill off dust
mites. In that case I was concerned about
bed bugs, but that it is another story entirely that I’ve been itching to
share. It was funny to open the chest
freezer and find the duffle bag. Apparently
I haven’t been cooking or cleaning, since it has been in the freezer since a
hotel stay in November.
Of all the indoor air quality concerns, I get calls about
mold the most. Mold problems come from
excess moisture, so the very first step is to find the source of the moisture
and then work from there. Outside of
leaks and other unusual problems, we end up with moisture in our home daily
from showers and baths. Be sure to run
the bathroom fan. With mold, if you see
it or smell it, clean up with a bleach solution of one part bleach to 10 parts
water. Another suggestion is to limit
houseplants, especially in bedrooms, to avoid molds.
At my house the pet is a pest, so it is hard to distinguish
between the two, but either can be an asthma trigger. If possible, keep pets outdoors. Keep pets off beds and out of bedrooms,
particularly in rooms where someone with asthma sleeps. It is also a good idea to keep litter boxes,
pet beds and cages away from sleeping rooms.
Try to keep pets off fabric covered furniture. Vacuum often with a HEPA (High-efficiency
particulate air) vacuum. As for
the pests, you don’t really want them in your sleeping rooms or other areas of
your home either. Some ways to manage
for pests are to reduce clutter, clean up spills and crumbs promptly. Caulk and seal areas where pests can get into
the home. Make the place just a little
less hospitable for the pests.
My husband wondered if making the house inhospitable to his
mother-in-law would work. I actually
wonder, with as dirty as the house was last time she was here, if she will ever
return. If only people would visit after I cleaned and not before! Of course, I’d rarely have company that
way. Whether or not your mother visits,
I hope the indoor air quality tips will help you clear the air around your
house. 
