Every grandparent can attest to the many joys that
come with spending time with our grandchildren. For me those joys began just
over a year ago with the birth of my first granddaughter. But as my granddaughter grew older we began
to realize that her trips to grandmother’s house were causing some pretty
miserable allergy symptoms.
I knew that we needed to do something different if I
wanted my granddaughter’s visits to remain pleasant and frequent. After all we
couldn’t have her suffering from allergies every time she fancied a visit to
grandma’s house!
And so I devised a three step plan to reduce my
granddaughter’s allergy symptoms.
·
Selecting the Right Tools
Step one was to narrow down what we believed to be
the cause of her allergy symptoms. In my
house we had two culprits, animal dander and the house dust mite! Lucky for me reducing the allergen count for
these two allergies was practical.
Next I did my homework and purchased a miele cat and
dog vacuum to keep the animal dander under control. This vacuum is designed with a self-seal bag
that traps even the smallest of particles by sealing shut before they have a
chance to escape.
Then I selected a high quality air purifier that
eliminated both animal dander and dust. I chose a reputable Living Air Purifier
because there were no messy filters to handle and they effectively cleaned
particles from the air using positive and negative ions.
Finally I researched the best options for dusting my
home without throwing loose allergens back into the air we were breathing. I
located a microfiber cloth that was both affordable and effective and sold in a
variety of stores.
·
Developing a Strategy
Researching and selecting tools to reduce allergens
was only the beginning. Now that I knew what I wanted and had purchased the
equipment it was time to set up my home and write up a strategy to destroy
current allergens and prevent future build-ups.
Since my granddaughter spends most of the time she
is visiting between the living room, dining room and kitchen I set up my air
purifier in a central location of those three rooms. This allows me to ensure
the biggest impact on allergen reduction is occurring in the same rooms she
will nap, eat and play.
Dusting and vacuuming became a daily chore at my
house, even when my granddaughter wasn’t coming to visit. Removing animal
dander completely can take up to six months of thorough cleaning so it wouldn’t
do much good to only vacuum the day she plans to stop by!
·
Sticking to It
I’ll be the first to tell you that keeping ahead of
allergens is draining and frankly not a lot of fun. I had to come up with a
plan that would keep me motivated on those long gaps between visits. Surprisingly that wasn’t such a hard task to
do. All I had to do to get myself motivated was close my eyes and picture my
granddaughter running around the rooms and laughing as grandma came chasing from
behind.
Visiting grandma’s house is supposed to be a joyous
time that everyone gets excited about. But watching your grandchild develop
allergy symptoms every time they came through the front door is a joy blocker
every time. But in my house I followed three simple steps and now my
granddaughter remains symptom free during her entire stay.
About the Author:
Mikki Hogan is a proud wife and mother living with
her family in North Carolina.
For years she asked doctors just exactly what is a
dust allergy but always felt just short of understanding. When
she discovered her granddaughter was allergic to the dust mite it became her
goal to fully understand the allergy and how to eliminate it! Now she shares
her knowledge with other parents and grandparents across the globe.
