After keeping your home tightly closed during the cold winter months, spring cleaning gives your space a fresh start for a new season. But if you have allergies, a good spring cleaning marathon will reduce allergens and irritants and help you breathe easier inside your home. Here are a few spring cleaning tasks to help reduce environmental allergens in your home and ease your allergy symptoms.

Deep Clean Your Mattress 

Despite using it daily, most people show their mattresses little love, never giving them a thorough cleaning. Experts recommend deep cleaning your mattress at least every six months. And springtime is the perfect time to schedule your semi-annual mattress cleaning. Think about it; your bed is exposed to a lot: sweat, shed skin flakes, drool, hair and skin oils, crumbs, mystery debris, you get the idea. Add allergens like dust, dust mites (and their waste), mold spores, and pet dander –– and your mattress is ripe for a cleaning. Luckily, the mattress-cleaning process is straightforward: 

• Strip all bedding from your mattress and toss it into the washer with your favorite Anti-Allergen Laundry Detergent while you work. 
• Next, use a vacuum with an upholstery attachment (preferably a HEPA vacuum), and vacuum your entire mattress, including the top, the sides, and all the little nooks and crannies. For best success, vacuum your mattress starting in one corner. Make sure to gently move your vacuum back forth to pull out any shed skin cells, hair, dust, and dirt. 
• After thoroughly vacuuming, use a rinse-and-vac cleaner (following the manufacturer’s instructions) to deep clean and remove allergens and debris that have worked their way deep into your mattress. Adding a miticide to the rinse-and-vac, like our Dustmite & Flea Control, will help keep dust mites from coming back.
• Make sure your mattress is completely dry (a fan will help to speed up drying time) before making up with clean linens. 

P.S., In between deep cleanings, it’s a good idea to thoroughly vacuum your mattress at least once a month to tackle the dirt, dust, dust mites, and dander buildup. After vacuuming, spray your mattress with the Anti-Allergen Solution to neutralize any lingering allergens. 

Reduce Clutter

Besides deep cleaning your home, spring is also the perfect time to clear out the items you no longer want or need. Knickknacks, storage boxes, clothes, stuffed animals, and linens can provide more spots for allergy triggers like dust mites, cockroaches, and other pests to hide. Too much clutter also makes cleaning more challenging any time of year, so downsizing can help make cleaning easier, too. Try this approach: 

• Identify problem areas. Take a few minutes and survey each room. Then, working room by room, select items that you’ll keep, store, donate, and trash. Move the items out of your home as soon as possible, whether it's bringing a donation box to a charity or listing an item on OfferUp or Facebook Marketplace.
• Consider why the clutter built up in the first place. Try to determine the reasons for disorganization and mess. Usually, there is more than one reason why an area of your home is continually unorganized.
• Make a plan to prevent the clutter from accumulating again. For example, if shoes constantly gather near the front door, a shoe rack or storage bench could avert clutter. 
• Organize and work on keeping clutter to a minimum. After you’ve tidied your home, put everything in its proper place. Commit to staying on top of clutter before it accumulates. An excellent method is to choose one day a month (perhaps the first Saturday of each month) and set a reminder on your calendar to purge unwanted or broken items and reorganize. You’ve got this! Staying on top of this simple habit will make next year’s spring cleaning routine much smoother. 

Tackle the Kitchen 

The kitchen is prime real estate for two major indoor allergens: mold and pests. These allergens can affect allergy-sufferers year-round, and a good thorough cleaning can give those with allergies relief. Here are some key areas to hit in your kitchen during your spring cleaning routine: 

• Empty and clean the pantry and cabinets (including inside and outside of doors and their tops) and drawers to remove cooking oils, grease, and crumbs. If you notice any insect waste while you’re cleaning, be sure to clean and disinfect the area. If needed, contact a pest control professional. 
• Get behind the appliances. Sweep out from behind the stove and refrigerator. While you’re behind the fridge, be sure to clean the coils gently to remove dust buildup. This will help prolong the life of the appliance by allowing it to work more efficiently.
• Dump out, clean,  and replace the refrigerator’s drip pan. This should be done on a regular and frequent basis. Clean and sanitize the drop pan with Vital Oxide to control any mold spores in the pan.
• Wash any window treatments, throw rugs, oven mitts, and kitchen towels with the Anti-Allergen Laundry Detergent.  
• Empty the cabinet under the kitchen sink and clean, paying careful attention to any signs of dripping or leaking water. This is a prime spot for mold growth as it thrives in wet environments. Remove any visible mold with Vital Oxide and a scrub brush; rinse, and then spray with Vital Oxide and let air dry to destroy mold from its roots. If there is a leak, be sure to address it immediately. 

Establish New Cleaning Habits

After your annual spring cleaning marathon, you’re probably tempted to take a break from cleaning for a while. However, now is the perfect time to establish ongoing cleaning habits, especially for those dealing with environmental allergies. A good cleaning routine will keep your home sanctuary cleaner and healthier year-round. So, this year, instead of trying to tackle all your spring cleaning to-dos in one day, or even over a long weekend, try tackling items on your spring cleaning checklist in 30 minutes each day. This will get you into the habit of tidying up for a few minutes each day, even after you’re finished with your spring cleaning tasks. Happy cleaning! 

Have questions about reducing asthma triggers and allergens inside your home or short-term rental property? We have answers! The Ecology Works has been leading the way in green cleaning since 1993. We can help you select the products you need to live a better, allergen-free life. Please feel free to Contact Us or message us on Facebook. No question is too small! We're here to help.