Joker Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Older dd has been sick a lot the past few months and was recently diagnosed with asthma and new allergies. She's now also allergic to our dog and dust mites.:glare: We have wooden blinds throughout the house and I'm thinking that replacing them with washable curtains/shades will help cut down on the dust and hair. Her bedroom has two windows and I would like to replace the blinds this weekend. Her windows have a street view so I need something that gives her privacy, and will hold up well to frequent washings. Also, are there any known to help reduce allergens? TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 We are in the same boat. It's rough. We have not finished doing everything that might help, but we've done a lot. We removed our wooden plantation shutters from all the windows (so sad!) and put up washable curtains. Ours are from Ikea, I don't know the name, but they are on the heavier, pricier end of Ikea curtains, but still washable. My goal is to wash them weekly in bleach and hot water. It's been working out to every 2 weeks or so, rather than weekly. The kids rooms both have roller shades now that I can wipe down easily. I don't like this option, but it was the easiest. No curtains in bedrooms. DS's room also has a heavy duty HEPA filter with charcoal. It's helping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houseofkids&pets Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Wow, I assumed that wood blinds and plantation shutters would be a better choice because you could wipe them down. Wouldn't shades/curtains made from some type of material absorb more allergens? I really, really want plantation shutters, so I found these posts interesting since we have pets and dh has allergies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 (edited) Wow, I assumed that wood blinds and plantation shutters would be a better choice because you could wipe them down. Wouldn't shades/curtains made from some type of material absorb more allergens? I really, really want plantation shutters, so I found these posts interesting since we have pets and dh has allergies. Our allergist recommends against blinds, etc. Here's a link to an article with some tips for reducing environmental allergens in the house - it was a quick google, I'm not familiar with the website, but the tips seem consistent with our allergist's recommendations: http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/body/environ_control.html# ETA: We have the vinyl shades in the kids' rooms... I don't care for vinyl so it wasn't our first choice, but it was best for breathing. Just want to throw out one caution - they outgas terribly at first. DS's asthma is aggravated by outgassing, so we let them outgas in another area for a few days, and then keep his HEPA and charcoal filter running to reduce VOCs in his room. Edited March 30, 2012 by Spryte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 We use vertical blinds on most of our windows due to allergies. They don't seem to get dusty like their horizontal counterparts. You can get them cut to size at Lowes or Home Depot when you buy them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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