Best advice for a dust allergy sufferer?

Other than wearing a mask while you clean – I’m not sure. The only real way to avoid it is to.. well.. avoid it. Hope you find something that works!

ha I know it seems ridiculous to be allergic to DUST!

Is it possible to get rid of rugs/carpets and just have wood floors? Also, get rid of curtains and go to something like wood shades? Basically, eliminate all the places that add dust.

Yeah I’m renting so I can’t but I do have curtains I could get rid of them – however the wooden blinds are quite dusty…. It just feels like a big joke. It’s actually quite depressing.

Are you on any medication for allergies? jZertec and Allegra work pretty good for allergies without making a person suffer too much.

My husband is also allergic to dust. I wipe using a damp cloth.
The vacuum doesn’t bother him but then again we have a shark that has 3 filters so it minimizes the dust flying in the air.
And as for my wood floors I use a damp fiber cloth broom to clean and then go over with the vacuum.
I also go over the a/c registers with a damp cloth

A wet or damp cloth will keep dust from flying in the air.
Also check windows and bathrooms for mold. Usually dust and mold go hand in hand.
Don’t run your AC as you clean. Some dust will fly up and you don’t want it being tossed about as you clean by the AC
Take an immediate shower right after. If you can’t than wear a shower cap, and mask and long sleeves and long trousers. After you clean take it all off and be sure to wash your face and hands, and put allergy drops in your eyes.

If you are simply suffering from out door allergies, you should always take a shower when you get home. Especially never go to bed without showering. Most people don’t think of it but they come in with pollen on their hair and they don’t rinse off and take that pollen to bed and breathe it all night long as the pollen accumulates on their pillow.

If you have very dry skin, be sure to drink plenty of water and lotion up. Most dust comes from human skin waste.
Be sure to wash and change your sheets regularly.
Vacuum your sofa. Most people forget they lay on it a lot when watching tv and it collects a lot of dust. (If you can scotch guard it , it will not only prevent stains but it will make it easier to knock or wipe dust off)
Forget vacuuming your curtain. Take them down gently with gloves and wash them in the washer.
Buy an air purifier and put it in your bedroom. Be sure to leave the door closed so that dust is minimized.

Oh, I forgot to mention. If you cannot scotch guard your sofa you can buy a micro fiber sofa cover that you can take off and shake it out side. They are a great save if you also have pets. If you do have pets it also is a good idea to go over them with a damp cloth, outdoors before they enter the house to help collect any allergens they may pick up from outside. And keep them off of your bed. Your bed should be the holy grail of cleanliness because you lay in it for hours every night.

You also may want to be sure you aren’t allergic to air fresheners. I once thought I was getting allergic to dust when it turned out I was allergic to the plug in air fresheners and the scented air candles. People often use them most right after cleaning to make the house smell fresher.

I also forgot that Claritin is great for allergies also and you may want to get allergy eye drops. Use them before you clean and after you shower.

wow great advice Pandora thank you – I didn’t think of pollen in hair – it’s mainly when I empty out cupboards with lines, do vacuuming – I have to vacuum every day in order for the dust to not affect me – I have a leather sofa and I’ve started wiping with a wet cloth which i think helps – I will wash curtains!!

Fantastic advice – I will re read again and definitely be doing a lot of what you say! x

I hope it helps. My husband is miserable if I’m not careful dusting. Dust flies about too easily. I do get a little itchy when I remove the curtains to wash so I figure you may want to use plastic or rubber gloves. Just be careful when removing the curtains that you aren’t letting too much dust fly about before you can put it in the wash.
I also use a damp cloth on my wood blinds.

I agree with @Pandora‘s suggestion about using a damp cloth. I do this whenever I’m dusting. We have really sandy soil here and the dust gets everywhere.

Perhaps you can also invest in a vacuum cleaner that minimises dust. I think the Dyson brand is supposed to be good. I’ve never used one, so I don’t know if they do minimise the amount of dust expelled by the cleaner, but it would be worth checking out.

I know this may seem like an over the top expense, but if you’re that sensitive to dust especially after vaccuming you might want to look into a Rainbow vaccum.

What makes it different from any other one on the market is that there is no dust to come flying out. Everything goes directly into a tub of water.

Granted, it’s expensive but it’s extremely well made and will likely last a lifetime.

Make sure your vacuum has a HEPA filter – and use it. That makes a big difference. Also if you know you are going to be doing something dusty take some Claratin, Generic: loratadine 10mg, about 4 hours in advance.

Get a new bagless vacuum that has a HEPA filter if you can. Do wear a dust mask when vacuuming and doing your dusting. Use a dusting spray as opposed to swifter types dusters which IMO can whip a lot of dust back into the air. If you have carpets you may want to consider putting in wood floors. And if you don’t have them yet, get dust mite/allergy covers for your pillows and mattress.

I cannot recommend using a netti pot daily or the Neil Med nasal rinse. These can change your life if you have allergies. You can always find someone else to do the vacuuming and dusting like my wife makes me do it.

Welcome to the wonderful world of allergies, in what seems to appear to be like the terrain where I live. Yea!
If you have an older vacuum cleaner, try finding the filter screen inside. That’s why the bag verses the dump cannister vacuum cleaners work better for allergies. They were built to last, and do so!
Another suggestion- if you can get some candy made from honey, the pollin comes from the bee’s making the honey- so for some strange reason, it works. I would suggest to attempt to find the product made in the same region where you live. Try to get the kind that is made with honey and not much else. This doesn’t seem to be a store- purchase item. Supply would be hard to gauge. Health food store perhaps, but we went directly to the honey bee producers.
Buy it to try during warmer months, as it isn’t available year round.
Window air conditioners (for when renting) do also help.
Allergy shots work- but we found the honey worked better!
I hope you feel better. Don’t go too far in cleaning and pitching items. You will be living in another type of vacuum….
Buy soft tissues- they make the difference.
Good luck!

Hi and thanks guys, I do have a hepa filter vacum but it seriously blows dust everywhere!
So does my other vacuum I might invest in the rainbow vacuum Butt mentioned ;)
I also just read that you should have honey if you have allergies that it somehow gets your immune system use to it.

It’s just so frustrating as I hate cleaning as well and i’m a horder (spelling) so now in order to control my allergies i have to clean and not HORDE!

Hoard, Hoarder. For this context :)

Horde=a huge group (people, animals, insects, etc.)