Asthma-proof Your House with These 10 Excellent Home Improvement Tips

Asthma is incurable, but it can still be controlled. One way to control is by creating asthma-friendly environment. In this article, you will read about 10 excellent ways to asthma-proof your house and to make it an asthma-friendly living space for asthma sufferers. But before that, you need to know first why you need to asthma-proof your house.

Why Asthma-proofing Your House Is Necessary?

Asthma attack can be dangerous, but if asthma prevention is done correctly, its deadly effect can be avoided. Asthma attack is triggered by inflammation that occurs in the bronchi or bronchioles. The inflammation constricts the cavity through which air travels through the lung. At this stage, uncomfortable pressure will be felt in the chest and a bout of dry coughs will initiate. As the attack intensifies, the pressure becomes even more severe and coughing begins to produce mucous discharge. The amount of oxygen-carrying air that enters the lung will decrease and wheezing will start to be heard. The oxygen deficiency condition is exacerbated by the fact that the burning rate of oxygen in cells will increase when oxygen is unable to enter the alveoli. If this situation continues, asthma can be deadly.

According to the Partners Healthcare’s Asthma Center, “asthma mortality is increasing worldwide, yet fatal asthma is preventable.” So, if there are people with asthma living at home, you need to know the most effective way to prevent asthma attack from occurring. Mayo Clinic lists a number of possible ways to prevent asthma attack, one of which is by identifying and avoiding asthma triggers. Asthma-proofing a house is a comprehensive endeavor to make sure that the house is void of all potential asthma triggers. By asthma-proofing your house, you have taken a great step to protect your asthma-suffering family members from potentially deadly attack.

10 Home Improvement Tips for Asthma-proofing Your House

The following tips are called home improvement tips because as you make your house more asthma-friendly, you actually improve its condition and atmosphere. So by asthma-proofing your house, there are actually great perks that you can get: your house will feel better than it did before. Here are 10 tips that you can follow if you want to asthma-proof your house.

1. Keep your house constantly clean.

Dirty house is bad for asthma sufferers. Keeping it clean is thus necessary if you don’t want asthma attack to occur at home. There are several important issues to mind when cleaning your house. Regular vacuuming is important, but be sure that you use only vacuum with HEPA filter and that you replace its bag regularly. Dusting your house regularly and washing your bedding at least once every week are also important to keep your house dust and mite-free.

2. Beware of carpet flooring.

If possible, don’t use carpet flooring at home as it traps dirt, debris and mites. If carpet is necessary, be sure that you choose anti-allergenic waterproof carpet and that you vacuum and steam it regularly. Installing carpet at the asthma-sufferer’s bedroom is not advisable, even if you can clean it regularly.

3. Install air filter.

Install air filter to prevent harmful smoke and particles from entering your house. Those tiny particles are the most notorious triggers for asthma attack. Keeping them at bay will make your house asthma-friendly.

4.Install dehumidifier.

Another silent killer for asthma sufferers is mold and mildew. Their growth is triggered especially by high level of moisture and humidity. To make sure that your house is free from them, install a dehumidifier on air conditioned rooms (most air conditioners already have built-in dehumidifier), basement, and other moist and humid parts of the house.

5. Limit the use of fabric in your house.

Using fabric furnishings and decorations in excessive amount is not advisable as fabric traps dust and dirt. Remove all fabric curtains, tapestries and table-cloths and replace them with non-allergenic materials, such as blinds and other non-fabric decorations.

6. Don’t use wood-fueled heating appliance.

Wood-fueled heating appliance produces smokes, soot and dirt, all of which are bad for asthma sufferers. Replace this kind of heating appliance with another appliance that is friendlier to asthma-sufferers, such as gas or electric heater. If you use gas heater, make sure that the ventilation goes to the outside of your house. Radiant heater is considered the best choice as it produces only heat waves and not anything else.

7. Keep air ducts inspected and cleaned.

If your house uses air ducts for ventilation or distributing warm air throughout your house, be sure to keep the ducts regularly inspected and cleaned. As air duct inspection is mostly a professional job, you may need to hire an HVAC specialist to take care of your air ducts.

8. Avoid pollen as much as possible.

This might not be an eco-friendly tip; however, as pollen is dangerous for asthma-sufferers, keeping away plants that produce pollen might be necessary. During Christmas, you may want to use artificial plant instead of real coniferous tree. If you plant flowers in your garden, you may want to avoid opening your windows and allowing pollen to come in. If you have to open the windows, do that after 10 a.m. when the amount of airborne pollens has greatly decreased.

9. Cover all potential nests for mites.

Mattress, cushions, sofa, and other objects that can become potential nests for mites must be covered perfectly with dust mite-proof covers. This way, mites will not cause too great concern at home.

10. Fix no-smoking sign on the wall.

Smoking inside the house is absolutely forbidden if there are asthma sufferers inside it. Fix no-smoking sign on the wall to make sure that none of your guests smokes inside your house. If they want to smoke, you can politely tell them to smoke outside.

With these home improvement tips, your house will be a safe haven not only for people who suffer asthma, but also for those who don’t have any health problem. By keeping air clean, humidity low, and dirt and debris away from your house, you know that all occupants of your house will be healthy and happy.