Thankfully, there are things you can do to avoid either of these eventualities. 

Allergic to your pet? Here’s what to do…

Wash your pet at least once a week

It may seem futile, but keeping your pet super clean can make a big difference when it comes to allergies. By taking them to a groomer once a week (or asking someone who doesn’t suffer from allergies to do the washing for you) you can keep dander to a minimum – the real culprit when it comes to pet allergies.

While many how-to guides will suggest bathing your pet every week or two, a paper published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology states that it really needs to be twice a week. While washing a pet (specifically a dog in the study) definitely does reduce the allergen load significantly at first, it’s back up where it was again just 3 days later. While your pet won’t be happy about it, twice weekly washing was shown to reduce the buildup of allergens not just on the animal itself, but also in dust reservoirs in the home and the air.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that, although fur and dander do produce a lot of the allergen load, so too does saliva and urine. So no doggo kisses for you!

Create a pet-free zone

If you’re going to have a pet living in your home, do yourself a favour and make sure that you have a pet-free zone to escape to! No matter how hard you try, there might just be days when the allergies are just too much to handle. Having a space you can go where the air is clear and allergens are at a minimum can offer some much-needed respite. 

Sometimes, if you’re having an allergic reaction to one thing, it can exacerbate reactions to other things that might ordinarily go unnoticed. To ensure this pet-free zone really is as clean and clear as possible, you might want to consider getting an air purifier for a room, to eradicate all airborne allergens. 

Visit an allergist

If you’re suffering from any kind of allergy, it’s a smart move to visit an allergist. If you’re allergic to your pet and looking for solutions, they might just have one for you in the form of shots, a nasal spray or specialist advice on reducing allergen load.

If allopathic medicine isn’t your thing, there are natural alternatives too. With the right practitioner TCM (Chinese herbalism and acupuncture) has been known to help ease allergies, and popular home remedies include nettle tea, spirulina, probiotics and quercetin. 

Use an air purifier 

Investing in a whole home air purifier, or even just an air purifier for a room, is one of the best things you can do if you’re allergic to your pet, as this will literally clear the air of almost all allergens.

Greentech’s nature-inspired air purification system is the only one in the world to use both passive and active technology, both capturing pollutants (such as dander) as they float by and actively seeking out and destroying those irritating particles.

Just one system can span up to 1325 sq ft, and as an added bonus, it will get rid of any unwanted pet odours too!

Keep upholstery clean

As well as keeping your pet clean, it’s equally important to keep upholstery such as carpets, curtains, sofas and armchairs clean too.

Upholstery provides the perfect hiding place for airborne contaminants like pet dander, and once it’s trapped it’s there to kick up an allergy storm every time you sit down or brush past it.

You’ll never manage to get every last scrap cleaned up, but regular cleaning (at least once a week) can help to keep allergen levels tolerable – particularly when combined with all of the above!

If you’re in a position to do so, you may want to consider ditching carpet and curtains entirely and switching out for wooden or laminate floorboards and blinds. Leather furniture is also easier to clean and less prone to gathering dander than fabric.

If you’re about to get a pet, choose wisely

Maybe you’re considering getting a pet but you’re concerned about pet allergies presenting a problem. If this is the case, it’s well worth bearing in mind that you might not be allergic to all dogs, as they do differ!

It’s actually only male dogs that produce a particularly triggering protein called Can f 5 in their prostates. Around 30% of people with dog allergies are allergic to Can f 5, which may mean they could tolerate a female dog much more, or a neutered male.

If you’re allergic to your pet, or you have allergies and are concerned about how you might react, these tips should help. If nothing else, be sure to explore the benefits of installing a pureair purifier in your home to help clear that environmental air, as that could really make all the difference!

These are frightening figures, that will no doubt leave you wondering how to protect your family from indoor air pollution. While it’s near impossible to avoid all indoor air pollution, it is possible to significantly reduce it – something we should all be doing for ourselves and our loved ones.

Fortunately, the steps you can take to clear the air of harmful pollutants don’t have to be hard or break the bank. Here are 5 ways to protect your family from Indoor Air Pollution…

Open windows regularly 

It may seem counter-intuitive, given the pollution in our outside world, but studies have shown that indoor air pollution is frequently two to five times higher, and occasionally up to 100 times higher, than outdoor air pollution.

With this information in mind, it’s a good idea to give your home a frequent airing. However, it’s also worth doing this strategically, to ensure you don’t make matters worse. If you live near a road, only open windows at a time when there’s less traffic. If you suffer from hay fever, stick to opening windows early in the morning when the pollen count is lower.

Clean and vacuum frequently

As you may have already learned from our blog about how air pollution can impact your mental health, a lot of indoor air pollution is made up of tiny dust, dander and mould particles, as well as VOCs (volatile organic compounds) found in upholstery, cosmetics, cleaning products and more. These often make their way into the air after settling onto (and into) carpets and furniture. So frequent vacuuming and cleaning are a must to keep indoor air pollution levels down.

Other ways to limit exposure to these harmful particles are to always remove your shoes before entering your home, wash bedding regularly and never use a second-hand mattress.

Switch to natural products

Some of the most dangerous VOCs we breathe in come from the chemical products in the home. The worst culprits include air fresheners, cleaning products (especially oven cleaners), aerosols, wall paint and beauty products. 

Switching up your usual, chemical-laden products with natural alternatives is an excellent idea to reduce harm in your home. You can even make many household cleaning products yourself, using simple ingredients such as vinegar, baking soda and essential oils! 

Reduce the risk of damp and mould

Damp and mould can be very dangerous, particularly for young children whose lungs are still developing. If you’ve got asthma (see our blog on Allergy Awareness Month for more on this) or a weakened immune system, it’s all the more important to keep fungi and humidity in check.

Again, regular cleaning will help, but it’s also very important to take steps to reduce humidity in the home. If you hang wet washing, it’s always best to do so outside if you can. If that’s not possible, open a window and leave your washing to dry in the sunniest spot in the house, to speed up the process. 

Decorate with air-purifying plants

Did you know that some plants have the incredible ability to scrub pollution from the air? The famous ‘clean air study’ conducted by NASA found that various houseplants, such as the Spider Plant, English Ivy, Gerbera Daisy and the Money Plant can remove toxic pollutants from the air, including benzene, formaldehyde, xylene, and toluene.

If you choose to bring these amazing plants into your home, do your research first if you have pets, as some are poisonous to cats and dogs.

Use an air purifier

It’s important to try and tackle the root cause of indoor air pollution, by reducing the risk of mould, cleaning regularly and sticking to natural products to reduce the toxic load around you. But even with all these things in place, there will still be a lot of indoor air pollution to deal with – and it doesn’t stop coming!

This is where an indoor air purifier comes in – specifically a Greentech indoor air purifier, which takes its inspiration from the natural world, and uses active and passive technology to seek out and destroy pollutants in your home. 

Air purifiers are without a doubt the most effective way to reduce indoor air pollution and keep levels down. Our award-winning filtration systems have been proven to remove 140% more VOCs, 99% more airborne terpenes and be 100% more effective at neutralising odours than carbon filters. What’s more, it targets both surface and airborne contaminants, completely managing viruses, bacteria, moulds, fungi and even Covid-19! All while being totally safe and non-toxic for humans and animals.

Want to know more about how an air purifier can transform your living space? Get in touch!