Spring cleaning for your health: 9 tips.

Tips to make your home healthier this spring.

If you clean your house this spring, you should consider all the benefits. Yes, a good wash removes allergens and harmful bacteria, but spring cleaning also improves your mental health. A disorderly house increases the stress . Over time, a higher burden leads to health problems. So remember to cleanse your body and mind. Do not forget that cleaning and maintaining your home will result in annual energy savings, making the portfolio healthier.

Understanding all these effects will help you make better decisions about cleaning your home. Here are nine spring cleaning tips to make you healthier and richer.

1. Clean your HVAC air ducts

Replacing the air filter in your HVAC system will prevent the spread of allergens, bacteria and mold. But do not forget the wires of your system. It also collects mold, dust and dirt that your filter can not catch. Check the vents for signs of dust and mold. These indicate that you need a channel cleaning. Or if your home is ten years or older and you have never cleaned the pipes, it's time to have the HVAC system checked. Test your air conditioner to make sure it works properly and matches the size of your home . Regular maintenance ensures your system will last for several seasons.

2. Check for leaking water hoses

When the snow melts, it can detect leaking or collapsed water pipes. Wet untreated areas around your hot water tank or under your sink can develop a poisonous black mold. Black mold spores can cause a variety of problems, from chronic coughing to lungs and nose bleeding. Check all areas of your house where there are water pipes, especially those inside the outer walls. Look for signs of mold on the underside of your shower, dishwasher and washing machine. Better yet, install a smart home leak detector. These devices will automatically alert you to leaks before they destroy your home and endanger your health.

3. Invent your medicines.

Now that the cold and flu season is around the corner, check your medicine cabinet. Discard expired, prescription or over-the-counter medicines. Overdue drugs and vitamin supplements are not effective. They do not help you or your family if you need allergies or pain relief. Do not throw them in the trash and do not throw them in the bathroom. The chemicals in the medication can get into the water or poison the animals that take them out of the garbage cans. Follow FDA guidelines for disposal of unused medication .

4. Prepare your humidifier for storage

If using a humidifier during the winter months, clean it for summer storage. If they are not cleaned, humidifiers are an ideal breeding ground for mold, bacteria and germs: harmful to people with asthma or allergies. And dirty humidifiers can even cause lung infections.

5. Clean your pillows and mattresses

Many people are allergic to dust mites, microscopic microbes that live on our pillows and mattresses. By eliminating these little creatures by cleaning the pillows and mattresses , the symptoms of hay fever, sneezing and runny nose are eliminated. If you do not want to clean your sheets, you can always buy a new one. Replace your mattress every ten years and your pillow every two years.

6. Aspirate under your bed

In the spring, the room under our beds houses a collection of dust bunnies and cobwebs. These unpleasant allergens are only a few feet away from your sleeping face. Cleaning under your bed reduces allergy symptoms. Use your accessories to vacuum under your bed, or remove your mattress to remove dust.

7. Replace the batteries in your detector

Most smoke and CO2 detectors warn about used batteries. However, this does not mean that these security solutions will continue to work. Take time to test and replace the batteries in your detector. Carbon monoxide is a colorless and odorless gas made from fuels such as propane, gasoline, coal or wood. Unlike fire, you can not see it or feel it coming. That's why CO2 poisoning is so dangerous for people who sleep. You can often the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning not feel , before it is too late.

8. reorganize your pantry

The best way to recover in the spring is to eliminate all expired and processed food in your cabinets. Check the nutritional information for sugars and refined carbohydrates. Mix these unhealthy processed foods in the trash and replace them with a mixture of nuts, dried fruits, cereal bars, organic fruit snacks and kale chips. We tend to take the first snack we see in the pantry, so we have to include healthier options. The same applies to your fridge and freezer. Make sure they are both well filled: A full refrigerator uses less energy to cool than an empty fridge.

9. Organize your room to sleep better.

Your health depends on a regular, restful sleep. Otherwise, our stress levels will rise and our health will worsen. Clean sheets, mattresses and pillows help. But also a room organized. When you clean your room, rearrange it to make sleep more comfortable. Here are some ways to improve Feng Shui in your room:

• Keep the air clean with an air purifier or by opening the windows
• Cover disturbing light sources (eg alarm clock screens)
• Block external light sources such as the sun or a street lamp with blackout curtains
• Install dimmers to control the brightness of your room
• Cover carpeted wood floors to reduce noise.
• Paint the walls with soft colors such as polka dots, gray, white and beige.

These nine spring cleaning tips are a good start. Some are easy and others require more time and money. But everything will help most people to create a healthy home for their families. Your home is unique. Look for other ways to make it healthier, from redesigning your home to investing in a new HVAC system.

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