Top 10 cleaning hacks to improve sleep during hay fever season
Did you know that almost 90% of children affected by hay fever symptoms have trouble getting a good night’s sleep? As we approach the peak of allergy season, more children are missing out on sleep due to allergy symptoms, meaning parents are looking for ways to alleviate their kids’ discomfort.
With this in mind, with the help of Mira Yordanova, owner of end-of-tenancy cleaning company Top Cleaning GB, MattressOnline have collated their best bedroom cleaning hacks to help parents enable the best sleep for their kids.
1. Don’t dry clothes on an outside washing line
Some of your washing habits might need changing when dealing with hay fever symptoms. After doing your laundry, avoid drying your clothes and your bedsheets outside in the fresh air where pollen and dust can collect on them. Instead, dry them in a tumble dryer or hang them up inside.
2. Make your own dust-repellant spray
Consider mixing the following ingredients to create a homemade dusting spray that will keep your surfaces cleaner for longer:
● ½ cup of water (125ml)
● ¼ cup of vinegar (60ml)
● 2 tablespoons of olive oil
● A few drops of an essential oil of your choosing to give your spray the perfect scent (we recommend lemon!)
Once sprayed, wipe the surface with a clean cloth. This dust repellant spray will help keep dust and pollen away from your bedroom’s surfaces for longer!
3. Vacuum your mattress and wash your bedsheets EVERY week
You should vacuum your mattress weekly to make sure that absolutely no trace of allergens is left to haunt your dreams. And don’t forget to flip it to vacuum both sides. Those battling hay fever should also wash their bedding once a week, giving special attention to pillow covers during this time of the year.
4. Wash your hair before going to bed
Pollen can get stuck to your hair during the time spent outside of the house, with the risk of getting on your pillow case. The best way to avoid opening your bedroom door to pollen is to wash your hair with shampoo every evening. Alternatively, you can also try applying some leave-in conditioner, which will make it harder for pollen to get stuck to your hair during the day. You could also try wearing a hat and tying your hair up when leaving the house.
5. Mattress and pillow protectors are your best friends
Consider purchasing an anti-allergy mattress and pillow protector if you haven’t already, and make sure to wash them every one or two weeks with the rest of your bedding. This will ensure that any residual pollen on the mattress and the pillows won’t be able to reach your bedsheets, improving your sleep quality significantly.
6. Vacuum TWICE a week and use this trick
It’s a good habit to vacuum at least twice a week, especially for rooms covered in carpets, where dust can deposit very easily. But make sure you’re cleaning the WHOLE bedroom, not just the floors. These are some of the areas that people tend to forget about:
- Ceilings and walls;
- Light fixtures;
- Shelves and tops of cabinets;
- Curtains and blinds;
- Flat surfaces.
Using a criss-cross pattern while vacuuming your bedroom’s carpets will also help to improve your quality of sleep during hay fever season. Moving the vacuum in different directions will ensure you are getting deeper into the fibres of the carpet to pick up more pollen.
7. Pick a damp cloth over a dry one
When dusting, always choose a damp cloth over a dry one. The dry one will allow the pollen and the dust that you’ve just removed from the surface to float around the bedroom and deposit somewhere else. Instead, if you’re using a damp cloth, the pollen will stick to it and you will truly have got rid of it for good!
8. Use a pair of tongs to clean your blinds
Pollen can deposit on the blinds in your bedroom, as they stand so close to the windows. Grab a pair of tongs, wrap them in a damp microfiber cloth sprayed with cleaning product and secure it in place with elastic bands or clips. Next, grip the blinds lightly and slide the tongs down, to clean both sides of the blinds at once, making your dusting process less time-consuming and 100% efficient!
9. Get creative and use common objects to reach tight spaces
Sometimes it might be difficult to clean the whole room because of areas that are more troublesome to reach. Try using a paintbrush, a toothbrush or even a ruler to be 100% certain that you’ve cleaned every single part of your bedroom and no trace of pollen is left to ruin your sleep.
For example, by wrapping a cloth around a ruler or a kitchen spatula, you can very easily reach tight spaces under appliances and furniture. A paintbrush can help remove the dust from the skirting or from any crack in the floor. You can also be creative and find the objects and utensils that work best for your bedroom!
10. Don’t sleep with your pet
Yes, a pet can be your best friend, but not during hay fever season. Living with a pet will make it a lot more difficult for you to take control of the pollen infiltration in your home, as it will often stick to their fur. For this reason, try to hang out with your pets outside of the bedroom and especially avoid sleeping with them to alleviate your hay fever symptoms.