How to Desensitize a Bedroom

If you want to decrease nasal ALLERGY problems, it is important that you do as many of the following suggestions as possible.

• Use plain furniture. Do not put books in open bookshelves. Fancy furniture, bookshelves, and books collect too much dust.
• Keep all clothes in closed closets. Do not leave them laying around the room. Put wool garments in plastic bags. Avoid using mothballs, insect spray, tar paper, or camphor in the room. Keep drawers, closet, and all other doors closed.
• Buy furniture with rubberized canvas or plastic covers. Do not use fabric covers if possible.
• Use wood, tile, or linoleum flooring. Avoid rugs of any kind.
• Keep animals and birds out of the house.
• Remove all stuffed animals. If possible, toys should be wood or plastic.
• Do not have perfume, talc, cosmetics, or flowers in the room.
• Place pillows, mattresses, and box springs inside special allergy-proof covers. Placing adhesive tape over zippers will stop dust from leaking out.
• Store nothing under the bed.
• Walls should be painted or be covered with washable wallpaper. Check for lumps in the wallpaper that could indicate mold. Do not put pennants, pictures, or other things on the walls that could catch dust.
• Use washable cotton or synthetic blankets. Make sure there are no fuzzy surfaces. Use a cotton breadspread which can be washed regularly.
• Use cotton or other washable fabric or fiberglass for curtains. Do not put draperies on the windows.
• Use central air conditioning or a window unit to allow the windows to be kept closed at all times.
• Avoid electric fans as they tend to stir up dust.
• Keep tobacco smoke outside.
• Use dacron or other synthetic for pillows. Avoid kapok, feathers, and foam rubber, because these may grow mold.
• An electric heater is better than a hot air duct. If you must use central heat in the room, put a damp cheesecloth over the duct to reduce the dust accumulation. Change the cheesecloth every two weeks. Keep the bed as far from the air vent as possible.
• Wet dust the bedroom twice weekly. Damp mop the floor and ceilings with solutions containing disinfectant to prevent the growth of mold. Avoid vacuuming, if possible, since this causes increased dust circulation.

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This page was last updated on 19 August 1999.