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You can get a deshedding tool for the dog. It's just a comb that removes the loose fur. The idea would be for one of the nonallergic family members to take the dog outside and use the comb on the dog. My dog doesn't shed a lot but when I use the deshedding comb on her I end up with enough loose fur to fill a small sandwich bag.
Also, if no one in the house wants to clean and you can afford it, you can hire a cleaning service to come in once a week or so. That might even help the lazier people in the house to clean a little more on their own...lots of people will do a little bit of tidying or cleaning before the cleaning lady shows up because they're embarrassed for other people to see how gross their house is.
You can wash your sheets in hot water with borax to kill the dust mites. You might let the machine fill up, add your detergent and borax, put the sheets in and then stop the machine for 10 minutes to let the sheets soak, then let the machine do its thing.
Those are great ideas. I didn't know washing the sheets in hot water and using the dryer would kill the little kritters. (Maybe my knowledge about hanging them out in freezing weather is one of the justifications we New Englanders have for why we need to endure those horrible winters, lol, but it's a time honored method.)
Here's something else and it's similar to what my allergist told me about the bedroom. I couldn't even have curtains. It was bare bones, stripped down, just a room that was mostly allergy-free.
"It is simply a matter of reasonably good hygiene and what you would do anyway. You would control humidity and vacuum and tidy up the room and not have a lot of dust-gathering collectibles and hang things up and put things in drawers."
I wasn't allowed to have piles of clothing or upholstered furniture or heavy quilts. Just the necessities. I wiped down all wood surfaces with a damp cloth every day too so no dust would adhere to them. It wasn't a pretty bedroom when I got done making it dust and dust mite proof but it helped with the allergies.
Those are great ideas. I didn't know washing the sheets in hot water and using the dryer would kill the little kritters. (Maybe my knowledge about hanging them out in freezing weather is one of the justifications we New Englanders have for why we need to endure those horrible winters, lol, but it's a time honored method.)
Here's something else and it's similar to what my allergist told me about the bedroom. I couldn't even have curtains. It was bare bones, stripped down, just a room that was mostly allergy-free.
"It is simply a matter of reasonably good hygiene and what you would do anyway. You would control humidity and vacuum and tidy up the room and not have a lot of dust-gathering collectibles and hang things up and put things in drawers."
I wasn't allowed to have piles of clothing or upholstered furniture or heavy quilts. Just the necessities. I wiped down all wood surfaces with a damp cloth every day too so no dust would adhere to them. It wasn't a pretty bedroom when I got done making it dust and dust mite proof but it helped with the allergies.
I think it's not just the hot water that works, but the borax. I always use borax when I wash sheets. It almost never freezes here so we have to have other options
You can get a deshedding tool for the dog. It's just a comb that removes the loose fur. The idea would be for one of the nonallergic family members to take the dog outside and use the comb on the dog. My dog doesn't shed a lot but when I use the deshedding comb on her I end up with enough loose fur to fill a small sandwich bag.
Also, if no one in the house wants to clean and you can afford it, you can hire a cleaning service to come in once a week or so. That might even help the lazier people in the house to clean a little more on their own...lots of people will do a little bit of tidying or cleaning before the cleaning lady shows up because they're embarrassed for other people to see how gross their house is.
You can wash your sheets in hot water with borax to kill the dust mites. You might let the machine fill up, add your detergent and borax, put the sheets in and then stop the machine for 10 minutes to let the sheets soak, then let the machine do its thing.
Hi,
Thanks, I've got & have been using the brush. I'm curious about Borax. How well does it work as a laundry detergent apart from killing dust mites? Will it ruin my cotton dress shirts or items of synthetic clothing (e.g., polyester, spandex, etc.) I use for exercise? Any tips on using it?
Those are great ideas. I didn't know washing the sheets in hot water and using the dryer would kill the little kritters. (Maybe my knowledge about hanging them out in freezing weather is one of the justifications we New Englanders have for why we need to endure those horrible winters, lol, but it's a time honored method.)
Here's something else and it's similar to what my allergist told me about the bedroom. I couldn't even have curtains. It was bare bones, stripped down, just a room that was mostly allergy-free.
"It is simply a matter of reasonably good hygiene and what you would do anyway. You would control humidity and vacuum and tidy up the room and not have a lot of dust-gathering collectibles and hang things up and put things in drawers."
I wasn't allowed to have piles of clothing or upholstered furniture or heavy quilts. Just the necessities. I wiped down all wood surfaces with a damp cloth every day too so no dust would adhere to them. It wasn't a pretty bedroom when I got done making it dust and dust mite proof but it helped with the allergies.
I'm thinking about other dust collection points & noticing our bedroom has venetian blinds. Should I switch us to a pull up shade? Is it possible to clean venetian blinds without ruining them? (Ours are fragile ones from a certain large orange hardware store.)
I'm thinking about other dust collection points & noticing our bedroom has venetian blinds. Should I switch us to a pull up shade? Is it possible to clean venetian blinds without ruining them? (Ours are fragile ones from a certain large orange hardware store.)
I think there are tools for cleaning blinds. Mine are dusty too and I'm too lazy to clean them. A pull up shade would be simpler to clean than the blinds.
As for the Borax, I use it in my laundry because it brightens things and seems to make them cleaner. It is odorless so has no negative effect on my allergies and it's been fine with clothing of all kinds. No problems.
Hi,
Thanks, I've got & have been using the brush. I'm curious about Borax. How well does it work as a laundry detergent apart from killing dust mites? Will it ruin my cotton dress shirts or items of synthetic clothing (e.g., polyester, spandex, etc.) I use for exercise? Any tips on using it?
Use it with your laundry detergent, not instead of the laundry detergent. It boosts the action of the detergent and softens the water. Add it to the water before you add the clothes so that it can dissolve fully. I use it when I wash my husband's uniforms to get that outdoors smell out, because otherwise it seems to stay in the fabric. It also helps keep the washing machine from smelling funky.
Use it with your laundry detergent, not instead of the laundry detergent. It boosts the action of the detergent and softens the water. Add it to the water before you add the clothes so that it can dissolve fully. I use it when I wash my husband's uniforms to get that outdoors smell out, because otherwise it seems to stay in the fabric. It also helps keep the washing machine from smelling funky.
Hi Hedgehog Mom,
Our fancy high-tech Maytag is a front loader & locks as soon as it begins filling with water. If I open the machine when it has water in it, the machine drains & then shuts down the cycle. Do you have recommendations?
Thanks!
I think there are tools for cleaning blinds. Mine are dusty too and I'm too lazy to clean them. A pull up shade would be simpler to clean than the blinds.
As for the Borax, I use it in my laundry because it brightens things and seems to make them cleaner. It is odorless so has no negative effect on my allergies and it's been fine with clothing of all kinds. No problems.
Hi Hedgehog Mom,
Our fancy high-tech Maytag is a front loader & locks as soon as it begins filling with water. If I open the machine when it has water in it, the machine drains & then shuts down the cycle. Do you have recommendations?
Thanks!
I just have a plain old top loader, so I googled using borax in a front loader, and the common recommendation seemed to be to sprinkle 1/2 cup borax in the washer before adding the clothes and the water, and to make sure there are no lumps that might not dissolve if you're using cold water.
For the blinds, I have that little gadget that you linked to and it's a ton of work and still leaves dust where the cords go through the blinds. I use a brush like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...44AG1YE3BE934H and it works pretty well. You have to tilt the blinds one way, dust, then tilt the other way and dust again to get it all. I usually tie a bandanna over my nose and mouth so I don't inhale the dust, then wipe the windowsill and vacuum the room after dusting the blinds.
I just have a plain old top loader, so I googled using borax in a front loader, and the common recommendation seemed to be to sprinkle 1/2 cup borax in the washer before adding the clothes and the water, and to make sure there are no lumps that might not dissolve if you're using cold water.
For the blinds, I have that little gadget that you linked to and it's a ton of work and still leaves dust where the cords go through the blinds. I use a brush like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...44AG1YE3BE934H and it works pretty well. You have to tilt the blinds one way, dust, then tilt the other way and dust again to get it all. I usually tie a bandanna over my nose and mouth so I don't inhale the dust, then wipe the windowsill and vacuum the room after dusting the blinds.
Thanks again! I'll get the brush on my next Amazon order
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