Allergy season is fast upon us. The weather is warming up. The buds on the trees and shrubs are sprouting their colors – and pollens. Soon, many of us will be sneezing, blowing our noses, wiping our eyes, and washing our vehicles.  It’s time to keep the Kleenex handy!

If you’re an allergy suffer like I was, this can be a difficult time of year. In addition to taking various forms of medicines to help us get through these sneezing and wheezing times, there’s something else we can all do: Clean our homes. I know – ugh! Who wants to do that? But let me explain. It’s pretty simple.

* Filters. Our carpets, rugs, and furniture, all act as filters. They trap pollens, dust, dry soils, pet hair, and pollutants that enter our home. Just think if you didn’t have these filters in your home what would be happening. All that pollen, dust, dander, etc., would be sitting on hard surfaces and continually being redistributed back into the air each time we walked over the surface. Sneeze, wheeze, and blow!

When a filter is dirty, what do we do? We either clean it or replace it. In this scenario, we need to do a thorough job of vacuuming.

* Vacuuming. Make sure your vacuum has a HEPA filter, which help remove approximately 99 percent of airborne particulates that settle into your furnishings. Check your vacuum bag and make sure you change it often. It does no good to vacuum with a full bag. Nothing is being removed from the carpet because there is no place for it to go, except back into your carpet.

 Daily vacuuming is best during this difficult season. If your family members are especially prone to allergies, simple vacuuming will really help. And I bet you get a hug from your children too when they realize they aren’t sneezing as much because mom or dad did a great job of “taking care of them!”

For effective vacuuming, you should strive to do a forward and SLOW backward pass over each area, seven to eight times before moving to the next area. If you have a vacuum that indicates when all dry soils have been removed, you may end up doing more or less vacuum passes. Did you know that vacuuming alone (a good thorough vacuuming) can remove approximately 70 percent of all dry soils and pollutants trapped in your carpet, rugs, or furniture? And most dry soils are deposited in the first 10-15 feet of the entrance area?

When you vacuum your furniture, pay particular attention to the tops of your chairs or sofas. This is where everything settles. Take your time and do a good job. As you vacuum, inspect the arms of the furniture. Look at the sides and underneath the arms. Look at the areas where the back of the head, and behind the knees touch the fabric. This is where body oils build up and attract falling particles. If you have animals and they lay along the front or sides, check closely for darker areas where the oils build up. Can you see a difference? If you can, it’s time for a professional cleaning. If it’s been more than a year since your last cleaning, it’s definitely time for your preventive maintenance cleaning.

Vacuuming and cleaning. Two items that are simple but can have a huge impact on your quality of life, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), and surviving allergy season. And let’s not forget how a good, quality vacuuming and professional deep cleaning not only improves the appearance of your home, but extends the wear life of your furnishings, saves you money by not having to replace these items early, and, you feel so much better!

For more information, contact Chuck Roberts at Roberts Carpet & Upholstery Care at 413-458-9399 or Robertscf@aol.com. Roberts Carpet is an authorized Von Schrader Associate specializing in  low moisture cleaning using certified Green Seal approved products with a 100 percent risk-free guarantee.