My daughter has been fighting allergies for quite some time now, and honestly, it’s been hard for her. She’s fragile and very little and likes to play outside, especially in spring and summer when everything outside is blooming. Unfortunately, she can’t do it as freely as other children can because she immediately starts coughing and her nose starts running. I can understand for a child with allergy to be so sensitive to the outer conditions and environment, but when she started experiencing the same effects while at home, I took her to the doctor only to found out that her problem is more severe than we thought. Long story short, home renovation was my next project for the sake of my little girl’s well-being.
Apparently, anything made of timber in the house is a potential allergy trigger. Also, anything that collects dust mites is also an allergy trigger, and for her – a big one. So, my husband and I decided we’re going to change the floors, the blinds, some of the furniture and the rugs in the rooms she frequently stays in, to create an allergy-friendly home. We made a few changes we concluded were essential.
Window treatment
After doing some research on the matter of allergies, I found out that timber blinds can be a serious trigger. The saw dust they produce and is collected on the shutters, blinds or whatever window treatment you have, literally provokes the organism to react. People who suffer from asthma are highly influenced by timber, but people who suffer from other types of allergies can be affected as well. I looked for a safer alternative to my timber shutters and I found out that Venetians blinds are the much healthier option. Because they’re anti-fungal and anti-static, they don’t collect dust, which makes them perfect for allergy sufferers. Also, Venetians blinds can perform well in wet and humid areas, so if you have windows in the bathroom you can install them there as well.
Floors
Wooden floors are amazing; they look good, work well with every interior design scheme and provide kind of a warm feeling in a home. But, it’s wood, which means it’s not exactly the most allergy-friendly material. So, we went with the completely opposite option: ceramic tiles. They don’t add the same warmth and cosiness as wood, but at least they don’t cause my girl to become all swollen. We wanted to be completely sure in our choice, but if you’re battling with easy allergies that aren’t so harsh, you can easily work with hard-surface flooring that doesn’t collect dust.
Furniture and rugs
Some furniture pieces that had wooden parts also needed to be removed. As a substiture, we went with metal frames and mattresses designed to prevent collecting dust mites. We also removed the floor rugs and the other floor coverings that were made of dust-collecting materials. Better safe than sorry.
In short, these were the only areas in our home that were troublesome for our little girl’s allergy. Some people will certainly find it easier to cope with whatever home installation of light fixtures, window treatments and furniture they may have. Whatever the situation may be, if you have someone suffering from allergies, know that their journey won’t be easy, and the least you can do is provide a place where they won’t feel threatened.
