Is summer your favourite of the four seasons? Your answer probably depends on whether you suffer with allergies or not. If you don’t, then summer is all about long days, warm evenings and plenty of sunshine. If you do, however, then for you the summer signals the arrival of high pollen counts, a stuffy nose and uncontrollable sneezing. And apart from stocking up on anti-histamines, there’s not a lot you can do but grin and bear it, especially when you’re out and about. Indoors, however, it’s a different story. Here are 5 ways you can keep your home free of allergens and enjoy a sneeze-free summer.
Try to steer clear of irritant cleaning products
Have you ever noticed how household cleaning products come in brightly coloured bottles and cans? No wonder they come with a warning to ‘keep out of reach of children’. Because while they look colourful and fun on the outside, on the inside they’re anything but. Take a moment to read the ingredients list and you’ll find words like, ‘ammonia’, ‘D-limonene’, ‘formaldehyde’, ‘sodium hydrochloride’, and ‘sodium lauryl sulfate’, to name just a few.
These chemicals may do a decent job of helping you keep your home clean, but it can come at a price, if you find you’re allergic to them. Fortunately, there are less harmful, more natural ways to tackle the housework. For example, there are very few jobs that can’t be tackled with little more than white vinegar (the clear stuff, not the brown stuff you put on your chips) and bicarbonate of soda.
For really impressive natural cleaning, we’d always recommend the H2O e3 Cleaning System. It works by electrolysing simple salt and tap water to create a powerful anti-oxidant. This has the power to cut through all sorts of household grime – sanitising and deodorising wherever you use it.
Banish the bathroom mould
When you think about it, it’s not at all surprising that your bathroom is such a breeding ground for mould. It’s a damp, humid space that needs regular airing to dry out – but probably doesn’t get it. Both mould and mildew are particularly bad news, especially if you live with a condition such as asthma, which affects your breathing. What many people do when they’ve got bathroom mould to deal with is spray it with bleach. That will certainly do the job, but it will also fill your bathroom with bleach fumes, which as you might imagine are not very good for you.
A far better bet is to reach for your H2O Steam FX Pro. This handy machine can switch from a powerful steam mop into a handheld steam gum in a matter of seconds. What’s more, it comes with lots of different-sized nozzles, designed to help you tackle even the most hard-to-reach parts of your bathroom. For example, in the corners of the shower cubicle, around the shower head, and in the plugholes. One thing a lot of people tell us it’s brilliant at, is brightening up the bathroom grouting. Grouting can be a real hotspot for mould-growth but tackle it with your H2O Steam FX Pro and you can bring it back to its brilliant white best in no time.
Steam clean the carpets
If you have hard floors, you’ll know that they are a magnet for dust. But at least you can spot it and sweep it up. When it comes to carpeted floors, you’ve got no chance. You’d be amazed – and likely horrified – to know what’s buried dip within the fibres of your carpets. Crumbs, hair, dead skin, dust mites… all of which will have a negative impact on the air quality within your home. Regular vacuuming will get you so far, but if you want to keep your carpets free of allergens, your best bet is to steam clean them now and again.
When it comes to steam-cleaning, there really is nothing better than the H2O HD Advanced 5-in-1 Steam Cleaner. For example, the H2O HD Advanced 5-in-1 Steam Cleaner comes with multiple attachments, which give you the power not only to deeply-cleanse your carpets but keep your hard floors hygienically clean too. And it doesn’t stop there. Switch to the garment attachment and you can give your curtains a good going over while you’re at it!
Enjoy an allergy-free night’s sleep
There’s nothing quite like the scent of freshly laundered sheets when you climb into bed. Yet there’s more to washing your bedding than just making it smell nice. Your bedsheets can harbour all sorts of allergens, from dead skins cells to dust mites. So, it’s always a good idea to wash your bedding on a high heat to kill the microbes and parasites that have made your sheets their home.
While it’s not necessary to clean your mattress as often as your bedding, it’s certainly worth tackling at least a couple of times a year – preferably just before and just after the summer, when the pollen count is at its highest. The best way we’ve ever come across to thoroughly clean a mattress is to use steam. The H2O Steam FX Pro is particularly useful for this. Because of the clever way it’s constructed, you can switch effortlessly to hand-held cleaning. Then, using the wide attachment, you simply glide the machine up and down the mattress, letting the super-hot steam penetrate deep into the fibres. Not only will this kill any allergenic bugs lurking within but it will leave your mattress smelling fresher, too.
Don’t rely on sweeping, get mopping too
Sweeping your hard floors is all well and good. But no matter how thorough you are with your dustpan and brush, you’ll always get microscopic dust left behind, which can get up your nose and leave you sneezing through the summer. One solution is simply to sweep up more often. But the more efficient way is to add moisture into the equation. Sweeping with a damp cloth does a supreme job of collecting dust and detritus from your hard floors. And that’s where your H20 Steam Cleaner really comes into its own.
Pick any machine from the H20 range and you can use it as a powerful steam mop. All come with microfibre floor cloths included, too. Ultra-absorbent and durable, these long-life floor cloths are designed to trap dirt, grease, and grime, leaving your hard floors looking polished and streak-free. First the super-hot steam from your H2O HD Advanced 5-in-1 Steam Cleaner loosens the dirt, then the tiny micro-fibres sweep it up and cling to it – meaning your floors end up clean and allergen free. And when the cloths are looking dirty, you simply pop them in the washing machine, run a gentle cycle and take them out looking brand new.
For more tips on keeping your home clean and allergen free, go here. In the meantime, if you’d like to find out more about the H20 range go here.
