Qs on air purifiers or other helpful aids for people with allergies

[Laurie4b]

Dh has a lot of environmental allergies. We have a dust mite cover on the mattress but the allergist didn't really talk with us about other things we could do in the house. He has trouble sleeping because of the allergies and I wondered about an air purifier or something. What suggestions do you have? Brands? 

 

ETA: we do have all either laminate, tile, or hardwood flooring except for a small amount of wall to wall carpeting in our dressing area/closet. I guess that needs to go, too! 

 

I am having a hard time finding an air purifier for our bedroom as it's on the larger side--about 17x17. Any suggestions? 

Edited December 16, 2017 by Laurie4b

[PeterPan]

You have carpet in the room or solid flooring? In my bedroom it's hardwood, no rugs. I run the Roomba zealously. A Roomba is the best thing ever. 

 

We have a whole has system where the air returns, goes through filters, gets treated by lamps, sings a dance, I don't know. It's a system. But really, it's what is in the room that matters.

 

Do you have an adjacent bath? I was waking up tight from my asthma, and I finally deduced it was small amounts of (ugh) mold from moisture from showers, here or there. You don't think of it as being a big deal, and maybe you're a way better housekeeper and don't have that. It didn't look like much, but I got on dh to treat it and kill it, cleaned some spots in the shower, etc, and my waking asthma tightness improved. 

 

Any animals? I finally had to break down and take the dog bed out of my room. I love my dog but the dog bed makes me worse, sigh. 

 

Other thing is that sometimes people wake up congested overnight and it's from their diet. Cheese, white flour, things that make mucous can set it off. So he might notice a connection there. Like if I eat pizza I'm gonna wake up congested. My system is sluggish so it's the price I pay. I have to eat my salad, take some fiber, clean all that yuck out...

[Laurie4b]

You have carpet in the room or solid flooring? In my bedroom it's hardwood, no rugs. I run the Roomba zealously. A Roomba is the best thing ever. laminate flooring though there is old carpet in the walk-in closet and dressing area

 

We have a whole has system where the air returns, goes through filters, gets treated by lamps, sings a dance, I don't know. It's a system. But really, it's what is in the room that matters.

 

Do you have an adjacent bath? Yes I was waking up tight from my asthma, and I finally deduced it was small amounts of (ugh) mold from moisture from showers, here or there. You don't think of it as being a big deal, and maybe you're a way better housekeeper No one has ever put "way better housekeeper" and my name together.  and don't have that. It didn't look like much, but I got on dh to treat it and kill it, cleaned some spots in the shower, etc, and my waking asthma tightness improved. We will check that

 

Any animals? Yes but she sleeps on the other side of the house I finally had to break down and take the dog bed out of my room. I love my dog but the dog bed makes me worse, sigh. 

 

Other thing is that sometimes people wake up congested overnight and it's from their diet. Cheese, white flour, things that make mucous can set it off. So he might notice a connection there. Like if I eat pizza I'm gonna wake up congested. My system is sluggish so it's the price I pay. I have to eat my salad, take some fiber, clean all that yuck out...

Thanks for your post!

[Spryte]

We have BlueAir filters - the crazy big ones - on each floor. We order the carbon filters because they filter smaller particles. They are on sale right now. My DS’s asthma is partly triggered by VOCs so filtering those is important (it means painting, house repairs, new furniture, etc are issues for him, too). On the VOC note - he has to have a special mattress. That helped a lot.

 

But aside from VOCs, hard flooring. Have a non-asthmatic person do the vacuuming. Don’t use ceiling fans. Keep windows closed. Run the house fan all the time (so even if the heat is not on, the air is moving through the filters). Change air filters in heating system every 30 days.

 

Wash all bedding and pillows once a week in hot. Curtains, too.

 

Reduce anything that accumulates dust. No rugs. Keep animals out of bedrooms. Take shoes off when you come inside. Shower every night.

 

We have Lauzon flooring now. I am not sure about their “smart floor†thing - we opted for it as the only VOC choice we could find, but supposedly it helps with allergies.

[AK_Mom4]

DD16 has bad allergies. Mine are more mild. We both have these ir cleaners in our bedrooms

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003RIUBG0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I sleep in a room with two large hairy dogs and this thing works wonders.

 

For DD16,she also has a dust mite case on her pillow case as well as her mattress. I wash her bedding - blankets and all - every week.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Well, I tried an air cleaner (something from Honeywell), and I didn't notice any difference.  So I'm not convinced they are all that magical.

 

I feel his pain!  I've got the bed cover, pillow cover, no carpeting, wash all bedding constantly, etc etc etc.  I'm currently trying allergy injections. 

 

I take 2 Benadryl before bed. 

 

 

[StephanieZ]

TOP priorities:

 

1. HEPA air filter for the bedroom. Critical. Run 24/7. Whatever brand is fine. Bigger the better, in general, just make sure it's rated for at least the size of the room you'll put it in. You should be able to find a good one on Amazon for about $100 for a bedroom. You have to replace the filters every 6 months or so (another $30-50 each time). I also have a large freestanding expensive ($700) "whole house" HEPA filter that I inherited from my mom. I might not have run out and spent close to a thousand bucks on one . . . but it does sort of rock. I run it 24/7 in the main living space. 

2. Keep pets out of the bedroom. Also critical if you have pet allergies.

3. Wash bed linens frequently. 

 

Also, if possible:

 

1. Remove carpeting and replace with hard floors in the bedroom and, the rest of the house, too, if feasible. This made a HUGE difference in our household, but I know it's pricey. Still, it really does make a huge difference. I will never, ever again have an inch of wall-to-wall carpeting in our home if there's anything I can do to avoid it. I have one large Chinese silk rug in the piano room where no pets are allowed and no shoes are worn . . . that's it. No other rugs or carpet except washable bath mats. Best thing ever . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

remove any cardboard and cloth material from basement or attic - the mold spores settle in and grow  

 

That's a good one!

 

I think that's the one thing I have not tried.

[SparklyUnicorn]

If you can smell the basement when you open the door, removing those things will help you big time.  We've had a dry year here - water table down too --but I still get congested if anyone stores paper/cloth down there 'cause the mold still has enough moisture to grow. And I cloroxed as the water departed after the 100 year flood a few years ago...

 

I have nothing in the basement.  We store boxes in the attic and my bedroom is in the attic. 

 

Our house is old so the basement is what it is.  We have done all we can in that department. 

 

At this point I'm probably mostly suffering because of the allergy injections! 

[SparklyUnicorn]

if your attic boxes are cardboard and in the unheated area, they are collecting moisture during parts of the year....and moisture makes mold grow. 

 

my house is old also, but we replaced all the plaster &lathe so that helped cut down the moisture and the dust...

 

There isn't much plaster left.  I think one wall in one room only (and not a room I am near often).

[Laurie4b]

Thank you everyone for your input. I really appreciate it. 

[Laurie4b]

I am having a hard time finding an air purifier for our bedroom as it's on the larger side--about 300 sq ft including adjacent bathroom & closet.  Any suggestions? Could I use 2 designed for smaller areas? 

 

Edited December 17, 2017 by Laurie4b

[kbutton]

Wash all bedding and pillows once a week in hot. Curtains, too.

 

Reduce anything that accumulates dust. No rugs. Keep animals out of bedrooms. Take shoes off when you come inside. Shower every night.

 

If you can't do hot water, freeze stuff, and then replace it with washable stuff as soon as you can. Hot really means hot. Get a pillow case cover (and a new pillow if you haven't already). Buy extra cases, and change them as often as it helps.

 

We use old-fashioned roller shades instead of blinds--much easier to dust (at least if you are me!). We have curtains only on big windows in common areas, and they are all washable.

 

The showering at night thing is a really big deal, particularly if you have animals, a job that exposes you to allergens, work in the yard, etc. 

 

Sinus rinses--every day!

 

Better furnace filters.

 

Duct cleaning if you can find someone reputable. We recently had it done in a new house, and it was AMAZING. The person used all allergen-friendly stuff to do it and took before/after pictures. 

 

Allergy shots. It's really worth it.

[4Kiddos]

 

I am having a hard time finding an air purifier for our bedroom as it's on the larger side--about 300 sq ft including adjacent bathroom & closet.  Any suggestions? Could I use 2 designed for smaller areas? 

 

 

https://www.allergybuyersclub.com/quietpure-whisper-air-purifier.html