TREE EDUCATION
An allergic reaction to pollen — commonly referred to as hay fever — occurs when an individual is exposed to the fine powder produced by flowering plants and trees. When it comes to pollen, springtime can leave you running for cover. But there are a number of things you can do to help minimize the effects of a high outdoor pollen count while indoors. The arborists with SkyFrog Tree Service offer the following tips for keeping your home pollen-free. Contact us today for additional tree education resources or to schedule tree services for your home!
Not all indoor air filters are created equal. For remediating the effects of pollen and other common springtime allergens, we recommend installing a HEPA filter in your home. HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters work by forcing air through a fine mesh that traps a large number — 99.97 percent — of microscopic particles — 0.3 microns or larger — preventing harmful airborne particulates from being dispersed throughout the home. Installing an air purifier for allergens within your indoor spaces can likewise combat pollen from circulating through the air and causing or exacerbating springtime allergy symptoms to flourish.
Pollen is just one of the numerous types of allergens produced by Florida-native trees and plants. One of the best ways to keep your home free from pollen is by hiring a certified arborist and scheduling professional tree service. Experienced arborists offer a number of services, such as tree trimming, that can help clear plant-producing allergens from the areas surrounding your home by pruning off parts of plants that produce pollen — less pollen outdoors means less pollen indoors. To learn more about how proper tree trimming can help reduce pollen production around your home or to get a free tree care estimate, contact SkyFrog Tree Service today.
In order to prevent pollen from infiltrating your home, it’s important to stick to a recurring cleaning schedule. Keeping your home allergen-free may seem like a never-ending process, but it is, however, one of the best methods to ensure dust and dander allergy symptoms are kept to a minimum. Instead of using a dry rag or duster to clean home surfaces, use the wet dusting method — wet the duster or rag with water before cleaning in order to avoid kicking up pollen and other indoor allergens into the air. Regular vacuuming and mopping are both great ways to remediate carpet allergies and ensure any settled pollen is promptly removed.
Not every type of living space comes with a garage. But if your house or apartment features covered garage parking, we suggest utilizing this indoor parking feature to help prevent pollen from getting into your home. Cars accumulate a significant amount of pollen while driving around and even when parked nearby pollen-producing plants and trees. Touching any part of the car’s exterior can translate into bringing pollen into your indoor spaces. If you don’t have access to a garage, however, we recommend rinsing the exterior of your car with clean water about every other day to help remove accumulated allergens from the vehicle’s surface.
Pollen is a sneaky little allergen that will attach to almost anything, leaving you to deal with pollen allergy symptoms even when you’re indoors — your hair is no exception to this rule. Since pollen spores can attach to the hair and clothing in seconds, we recommend washing your hair once per day before you go to bed. This will help you avoid bringing pollen inside and wallowing in allergen spores while you sleep. To best minimize indoor pollen exposure, we likewise recommend removing outerwear and changing your clothes as soon as you come home. Be sure to place dirty clothing in a sealed area of your home!
One of the best pollen allergy home remedies involves sealing your indoor spaces to protect your family from the outdoor elements. Make sure that pollen remains outside by keeping all exterior windows and doors firmly shut. This is especially important during peak pollen hours (early morning and evening). Staying up-to-date with Gainesville’s pollen forecast will also let you know when it’s safe to open windows, so you can bask in the fresh outdoor air without suffering the consequences of allergy symptoms. You can even subscribe to allergy emails for the latest information about regional pollen counts and allergy forecast warnings.
2546 NW 74th Place, Gainesville, FL 32653