If you were overwhelmed by my Spring Cleaning break-down, I apologize.  I tried to take a really, really big job and break it down to approachable and do-able bites.

If you aren’t up to the full job, what is the minimum you can do to get results that will bring relief?

Focus on the bedroom and the bed.  At a minimum, your clean should include washing all your allergy bedding, washing the conventional bedding, and treating the nonwashable items with a denaturing agent to handle the allergens that have collected since your last deep clean.  If you have an air purifier or HEPA air cleaner in the bedroom, make sure you turn it on high before you start cleaning.

Strip off the dust mite proof mattress covers, pillow covers, and duvet covers and get them in the washing machine.  Make sure your water has been turned up to 140 degrees.  If you don’t want to use hot water, just add a little De-Mite to your regular laundry detergent or wash with Allergen Wash.  We don’t recommend washing your allergy bedding with any liquid chlorine bleach.  The chemicals are just too harsh, and if you have a laminated or coated fabric, the treatment can be damaged.  If you think they need a little brightening, use any of the powdered bleaches.  The bleaches with sodium percarbonate (anything with “oxy” in the title) can be safely used on your allergy-proof bedding.

While the bed is apart, wipe down the bed rails, head board and foot board. 

If you have silk or wool bedding that cannot be washed, take them outside to expose to the sunlight.  The ultraviolet light will revive silk and wool.  If you have a bedspread that can’t be washed, you can safely put it in the dryer on the fluff or no heat setting and let it tumble for 20 minutes or so to beat out the dust and allergens.  Then before you put it back on the bed, spray both sides with ADMS Anti Dust Mite Spray to denature the proteins from the allergens that were left behind.  This is a great way to freshen up a bedspread that is too large to wash or is made of nonwashable material.  I wish I could take credit for this idea, but it was my mother who came up with this years ago.  I believe in giving credit where credit is due!

While you have the bed apart, this is a great time to spray down the dust ruffle.  It the dust ruffle is washable, you can toss it in with the allergy proof bedding if you aren’t using hot water.  The De-Mite and Allergen Wash are safe for all fabrics and colors and can be used to safely wash your dust ruffle.  The same is true for decorate pillow shams if they are made of washable materials.

Once all your allergy proof bedding is clean and dry, re-assemble the bed.  Spray down anything you weren’t able to wash with ADMS antiallergen spray and put on the clean sheets.  Put your freshened bedspread, quilt or duvet back on the bed as well as the decorative shams.

Keep your air cleaning device turned on high for the next two hours and keep the bedroom door closed.  This will allow your cleaner to suck up dust particles that might have become airborne as a result of your cleaning.

This isn’t the same as doing a deep clean to the entire room, but if you have allergies, this is something you need to do at a minimum of once a year.

Til Next Time!

Cheryl
The Allergy Store

Related Posts

•  Spring Cleaning – Living Areas
•  Spring Cleaning – Bedrooms
•  Spring Cleaning – Kitchen

Ack!  Spring cleaning the kitchen can be such a big job that it can tire you out just to think about it, much less do it. But, if you have a strategy, a plan, and the right tools, it doesn’t have to be so bad.

First your strategy has to be divide and conquer.  That means don’t try to do all the cabinets and counters at once..  Divide the room into blocks and clean each block one at the time.  In addition, each major appliance (think fridge or stove) and the pantry counts as a block. Plan on starting in one corner and working your way around.  You don’t need many supplies if you use a couple of all purpose ones.

To start, if you have a self-cleaning oven, this is the time to remove the racks and get the cleaning cycle started.  If you don’t have a self cleaning oven, and it isn’t too heavily soiled, you can apply your cleaning solution now.  If it is really soiled, it is best to let the cleaning solution sit overnight.  Get the drip pans and vent hood filters (washable ones) soaking in the sink with a solution of hot water and House Wash.  For the kitchen and bathrooms, House Wash is your go to cleaner.  If you are a spray-type person, then go ahead and in use an empty spray bottle to mix up one part House Wash to 8 parts of hot water. If you are a bucket-type person, mix your cleaning solution in a bucket now.  The standard 8:1 solution is good for tackling a modest amount of grease.  If your kitchen is really greasy, then you want to mix the solution as one part House Wash to 4 parts hot water.  Don those gloves and get to work!

You still want to start at the top and work down. Beginning at the first “block” First clean the tops of the upper cabinets and any exposed wall above the upper cabinet in that block. Sprayers, spray your solution on and wipe.  Bucket types, wipe down with a clean sponge or rag.  If you have knick-knacks or other dust catchers on the tops of the upper cabinets this is the time to take them down and wash them off.  After the tops of the upper cabinets are cleaned, then wash the inside and outside door of the cabinet.  Next remove all contents from cabinet. This is also a good time to sort and decide what to keep and what to discard. Wipe down the interior of the cabinets and inspect shelf coverings.  If they need replacing, this is a good time to do it because everything is out of the cabinet!  Return contents to cabinet.  Now, for that block, clean the backsplash.  If you have a steam cleaner like the Vapamore Steam Cleaner, this is the time to put it to work.  Steam the backsplash to clean away grease, grime, food debris, and whatever else has collected there since you last deep cleaned!  If you don’t own a steam cleaner, then it is elbow grease time to clean the backsplash with your House Wash and water solution.  After the backsplash in your “block” is cleaned, then clean the counter tops.  Once again, if you have a steam cleaner, this is where they excel.  I steam clean my countertops with the microfiber smooth floor attachment.  The steam loosens soils and sanitizes at the same time.  If you use the House Wash solution to clean down the counter tops (this is how I did it in the pre-steam cleaner days) then spray them down afterwards with Vital Oxide disinfectant spray to sanitize them.

Next, if there are any cabinet drawers in this block, time to empty them out and wipe down the interior with your House Wash solution.  I also like to give them a mist of Vital Oxide.  Clean any drawer inserts, inspect any drawer linings and the return contents to drawer.  This is of course after you have sorted through to see if anything can be discarded, recycled or donated!

Now for the bottom cabinets in your block. Follow the same procedure as for the top cabinets.  Wash the inside and outside of the cabinet door with your House Wash solution.  Remove all contents and sort, discarding as necessary.  Clean cabinet shelves and drawers, inspect linings and replace if necessary and return contents to cabinet.

If at any time in this process your block contains those dreaded plastic tubs and containers and their associated lids, take the time to make sure that all your plastic container bottoms and tops match up.  This is a great time to toss the lonely hearts who have lost their mate.  Sorry to sound so cold, but it is true.  The same goes for drawers that contain table linens.  Are you really going to use that stray napkin that has lost all its friends?  Really?  It’s also a good time to cull your herd of baskets.  I don’t know why, but if I put a beautiful straw bread basket in one of my cabinets and close the door, by the time I go in that cabinet again the basket will have multiplied by division or either invited all its friends over.  Suddenly that basket has become a cabinet full of baskets.  Its time to sort and discard/donate.

Once you get to the bottom of your block, be sure to wipe down the base of the cabinet and clean the area where the base joins the floor.  So many “things” fall into that crevice over time!

When you get to the pantry, start at the top and tackle one shelf at a time. This is a time to inspect cans for bulging seams and dents. Discard any questionable items.  Sort through dried spices (you know they don’t last forever don’t you?) and toss old tea bags.  Inspect the linings on the shelves and replace as necessary.  Wipe down shelves and return contents.  I also like to take my vacuum cleaner and vacuum the floor and corners of my pantry when I deep clean.  Wipe down the pantry door before you close it on that block.

Follow this process and work your way around the entire room.  Clean outside, remove contents from inside, clean inside, return contents and then move on.  When you get to the fridge follow the same process as the pantry, tackling one shelf at a time.  If you have removable shelves and bins, take them to the sink and wash them with hot soapy water.  After a thorough cleaning, I like to spray down the surfaces in my fridge with the Vital Oxide spray to disinfect.  Of course, make sure no food is in the way.

Once you have cleaned every block and re-assembled the stove and hood its time to tackle the last big project and that is the floor.  Use the crevice attachment to clean cracks between the floor and cabinets. Move fridge and oven (if possible) so you can vacuum behind and under them.  This is also a good time to vacuum off the coils on the back of your fridge.  It will help it cool more efficiently.  Then fire up the steam cleaner and deep clean that floor.  Pay particular attention to the areas close to the stove and fridge as these are where most food spills happen.  If you don’t have a steam cleaner, mix a strong solution of House Wash and hot water and add about 1/4 cup Vital Oxide to sanitize as you mop.  Make sure to get every nook and cranny and rinse your mop frequently.

Once the floors are finished, grab the phone and order take-out. I mean that kitchen is so clean you wouldn’t want to cook in there would you?

Til Next Time!

Cheryl
The Allergy Store

The pollen count in Atlanta Georgia was 9,000 yesterday.  Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

If you are a tree with female reproductive parts its a very good thing.  That is because pollen is actually the male reproductive part of plants. These boy pollens depend on either the wind or insects (such as bees and wasps) to take them to the females to make their love connection.

If you are a human with seasonal allergies, a pollen count that high is a bad thing….a very bad thing.  Anything over 1,000 is considered extremely high and 9,000 is to the moon!  Counting pollen is a science..  The method currently used takes only 20 minutes and was devised by Walter Jinotti, a biomedical engineer who lived in the northeastern United States and suffered from hay fever.  Before Jenotti developed his method, pollen counts required 24 hours to devise and the data was already old by the time the collection was complete.  We take pollen counts for granted today, but it wasn’t always the case.  He was honored by the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame in 1997 as Inventor of the Year and held many patents, including one for a blood pump.

Weather trends and pollen counts go hand in hand.  Pollen counts tend to be higher following drought years because plants want to increase their chances of survival. The mild winter that most of the United States experienced caused the pollen to be produced much earlier this year.  Staying with the Atlanta example, they are peaking about 2 weeks earlier than normal.

If pollen counts are high one day and then low the next does that mean your allergy symptoms will go away immediately?  That is not the case.  Even if pollen counts dip temporarily do to rain, your symptoms may hang on for a day or more.

Conventional wisdom has always held that pollen counts are highest in the morning and lowest in the evening.  However, studies of some specific trees has shown that they are releasing their pollens at night.  This means if you have been sleeping with the windows open thinking you were protected from pollen you aren’t.  Those open windows aren’t a good idea in the first place, so if you are going to keep them open, get them fitted with special screens that will repel those pollens.  The MicroAirScreen by Group Weston will do the job.  

No matter if the windows are open or closed, keep your air cleaner running on high.  Each time the doors and windows are opened and each time a family member (human or pet) goes out and comes back in they will bring pollen attached to their hair, clothing (or fur) and shoes.  Speaking of shoes, its a good idea to leave them by the door so you don’t track pollen all over the house.  You also want to change your clothing in the bathroom, where hard surfaces prevail, so that it is easier to clean up those stray pollens (or lost boys).

You can get reliable pollen forecasts from several internet sites such as http://pollen.com  and http://weather.com.  You will also generally find pollen forecasts for your area in your local paper.  Which brings us back to the late Mr. Jinotti.  In 1982 his method of counting pollen was recognized by the Associated Press as the most reliable and accurate method for inclusion in newspapers.

Til Next Time!

Cheryl
The Allergy Store