Dust as an asthma trigger.

[Homely2]

I find that my asthma at present is very much triggered by an ever increasing sensitivity to dust. My preferred holiday destination at present is a youth hostel as there are no soft furnishings or carpets.

I am embarked on a house decluttering programme, using the fact that a four course of pred, has raised my peak flow to 674, a record, so small asthma attacks taking me down to 500 can be accepted. While when my asthma is operating at 450 to 500, the same attack can get serious.

I have one air purifier to use at present which is on pretty constantly, as I move it around the house.

I have a family who like to live with quite a high clutter level.

How far do people go with making their house have a lower dust level.

I obviously need at least one more air purifier, one for upstairs and one for downstairs.

I am repainting the house, my asthma hates wet gloss paint I have found, but is happy with matt, while silk is only a minor issue.

I am replacing some of the older carpets, I am not convinced family will like no carpets, so will need to replace with new carpets.

What about sofas, we at present have a sofa and chairs with loose covers, all a bit at the end of their lives. What should I replace them with.

If you have dust as a major asthma trigger, how far have you gone in de dusting your house.

[MMBJI]

Hi, dust has always been a problem for me, although I test negative for dust mites, it just seems like any air bourne particles affect my stupid chest! Gah!

We have no carpets or curtains (roller blinds instead,) absolutely minimal clutter to enable swift thorough vacuuming of all surfaces, (there’s not meant to be anything out but there are 5 of us, including 3 children,) air purifiers- 1 in my bedroom and another that gets moved around the house, memory foam mattresses on all the beds, dust proof pillows and protectors, vacuum floors downstairs every evening, vacuum cleaner has a sealed system and hepa 13+ filter, beds changed and thorough vacuum upstairs once a week, hot wash towels once a week, there’s probably more but that’s it off the top of my head!

Holidaying is always difficult- camping is our most asthma friendly option, but often triggers hay fever instead (which doesn’t seem to affect my asthma.) dog and camp-fire free sites are hard to find. Otherwise it’s a holiday cottage with no carpets/curtains and we ask for loose soft furnishings to be removed. Plus we ask lots of questions about animals, the vacuum cleaner that is used etc.

We have many other measures to minimise animal dander in our house too- it’s exhausting when I start to think about it!

[hilary39]

I have bad dust allergeis too.

Do you have a HEPA vacuum? I have found that to be super helpful for vacuuming the house daily and it has a separate attachment for mattresses and couches that is great.

Do you have covers on your mattress and pillows?

We only keep a few throw rugs in the house and the floors are wood or tile otherwise. I replace pillows frequently and wash throw blankets every month or so.

[Itswonderful]

not sure that replacing carpet with carpet will help? I’m sure they’d get used to a different floor covering? I have leather sofas. I prefer fabric but ….. I have air purifiers and they help. But the worst thing for me is carpet. I can’t go into a carpet shop for very long before I feel my chest telling me it’s time to go. Ornaments are in a display case. I think clutter attracts dust so I’ve reduced it a lot. It’s made surfaces easier to wipe down. If dust is making you unwell I’m sure your family will want to help.

[daleboy3]

hello, have you tried a portable ioniser that plugs into the mains that negatively charges the air in a room bringing dust down to lower levels I used to use one many years ago with good results now I live in Somerset the air quality is so much better I don’t need it any more