Spring Cleaning Made Easy to Help Tackle Inanimate Allergens

Spring Cleaning Made Easy to Help Tackle Inanimate Allergens 

(NewsUSA) - While the spring season might be synonymous with cleaning your home, it doesn't mean that you're tackling it in the right way. So, if you're concerned about the allergens in your home, getting rid of a dust bunny (or two) and Fido's ferocious dander may not be enough.

In fact, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) supports this claim, stating, "When it comes to cleaning, many people may actually be doing it wrong, stirring up the very allergens they are trying to remove from their homes."

However, while keeping up with cleaning is vital for controlling indoor allergens, there is such a thing as being too diligent.

Take Jesse Tyler Ferguson, an actor on the hit show "Modern Family," who lives with allergies himself. Ferguson thought that obsessively cleaning his space was the way to go.

"Everyone knows I'm a neat freak, [but] I learned from AAFA that, like most of America, I was actually doing some things wrong and stirring up allergens instead of removing them," he said. "Now I look for Certified asthma and allergy-friendly products like Febreze Fabric Refresher Allergen Reducer (Unscented) and Swiffer Dry Dusters and Sweepers (Unscented) to help me clean the right way and reduce common allergens in my home."

The asthma- and allergy-friendly Certification Program was created by AAFA and the international research organization, Allergy Standards Limited (ASL), as the first program of its kind in the U.S. in order to reduce confusion about product claims targeting the asthma and allergy market, raise standards for these products, encourage innovation in the production of these products and raise issue awareness about asthma and

allergic diseases.

With these things in mind, Laura Dellutri, cleaning expert and author of "White Couch with Kids?" and "Speed Cleaning 101," offers the following tips revealing the places inanimate allergens -- from pollen, pet dander and dust mite matter -- may be accumulating and some cleaning advice that can help you remove them:

* Window dressing. Everyone cleans their windows, but few remember to dust window blinds and drapes -- places that can be havens for dust mite matter and other inanimate allergens. Using a Swiffer Duster (unscented, of course) can trap inanimate allergens two times more than a typical dusting cloth and three times more than a feather duster because it picks up dust and locks it away with thousands of flexible, fluffy fibers, designed to reach into nooks and crannies.

* Favor your fabrics. You may clean your couches, decorative pillows, upholstered furniture and carpets with a quick vacuum, fluff of a pillow or dusting. But spraying these hard-to-wash fabrics with something like Febreze Fabric Refresher Allergen Reducer (unscented) can help reduce inanimate allergens that can become airborne from fabrics as well. This nifty product reduces up to 95 percent of inanimate allergens like pollen, pet dander and dust mite matter that can become trapped in fabrics and soft surfaces.

* Clean smarter, not harder. Technology can be a beautiful thing, and it has revolutionized household cleaning with lots of gadgets and tools that make cleaning easier, faster and more effective. For instance, when it comes to removing inanimate allergens from your wood floors, using a Swiffer Dry Sweeper to trap and lock the dirt and dust, is two times more effective than a typical dusting cloth.

For more information, visit febreze.com and swiffer.com.