Hay fever affects 1 in 4 people in the UK, and with pollen levels already soaring in early spring, many will be looking for methods to ease their symptoms, especially at night to ensure sleep isn’t disrupted by symptoms. In light of this, the experts at MattressOnline have put together their best bedroom cleaning hacks to help hay fever sufferers regain a good night’s sleep.
Expert cleaning hacks to improve sleep during hay fever season
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Vacuum your mattress and wash your bedsheets EVERY week
You should vacuum your mattress weekly to make sure that absolutely no trace of allergens are left to haunt your dreams. And don’t forget to flip it to clean both sides. Those battling hay fever should also wash their bedding once a week, giving special attention to pillow covers during this time of the year.
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Make your own dust-repellant spray
Consider mixing the following ingredients to create a homemade dusting spray that will keep your surfaces cleaner for longer:
Once sprayed, wipe the surface with a clean cloth. This dust-repellant spray will help keep dust and pollen away from your bedroom’s surfaces for longer!
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Pick a damp cloth over a dry one
When dusting, always choose a damp cloth over a dry one. The dry one will allow the pollen and the dust that you’ve just removed from the surface to float around the bedroom and deposit somewhere else. Instead, if you’re using a damp cloth, the pollen will stick to it, and you will truly have got rid of it for good!
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Mattress and pillow protectors are your best friends
Consider purchasing an anti-allergy mattress and pillow protector if you haven’t already, and make sure to wash them every one or two weeks with the rest of your bedding. This will ensure that any residual pollen on the mattress and the pillows won’t be able to reach your bedsheets, improving your sleep quality significantly.
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Don’t sleep with your pet
A pet can be your best friend, but not during hay fever season. Living with a pet will make it a lot more difficult for you to take control of the pollen infiltration in your home, as it will often stick to their fur. For this reason, try to hang out with your pets outside the bedroom and avoid sleeping with them to alleviate your hay fever symptoms.
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Vacuum TWICE a week and use this trick
It’s a good habit to vacuum at least twice a week, especially for rooms covered in carpets, where dust can deposit very easily. But make sure you’re cleaning the WHOLE bedroom, not just the floors. These are some of the areas that people tend to forget about:
Using a criss-cross pattern while vacuuming your bedroom’s carpets will also help improve your sleep quality during hay fever season. Moving the vacuum in different directions will ensure you get deeper into the carpet’s fibres to pick up more pollen.
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Don’t dry clothes on an outside washing line
Some of your washing habits might need changing when dealing with hay fever symptoms. For example, avoid drying your clothes and bedsheets outside in the fresh air after doing your laundry, where pollen and dust can collect. Instead, dry them in a tumble dryer or hang them up inside.
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Wash your hair before going to bed
Spending time outside in the glorious sun can also come with the risk of pollen getting stuck to your hair and, as such, your pillowcase. The best way to avoid opening your bedroom door to pollen is to wash that pollen from your hair with shampoo every evening.
Professor Helen A Brough, Professor of Paediatric Allergy provides expert insight into the impacts of hay fever and how to ease symptoms:
“Hay fever, or allergic rhinitis, is an allergic reaction to pollen, causing symptoms like sneezing, runny or blocked nose, itching, and watery eyes. It occurs when the immune system mistakenly identifies pollen as harmful, triggering inflammation in the nose and eyes.
“Grass pollen is the most common trigger. Tree pollens cause symptoms from February to May, while weeds affect sufferers from April to September. Mould spores peak around September and October but may affect people throughout the year.
“To ease night-time symptoms, it is recommended that you:
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Keep bedroom windows and doors shut, especially at dusk and dawn.
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Don’t dry bedding or clothes outdoors if the pollen count is high.
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Use saline nasal rinses to clear allergens.
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Regularly use antihistamines or steroid nasal sprays (ideally before pollen season starts), using the correct technique!
“Some people experience Oral Allergy Syndrome, an itchy mouth or throat when eating certain fruits or nuts due to pollen-food cross-reactions. Antihistamines can relieve itching and sneezing; steroid nasal sprays reduce nasal blockage. Severe cases may benefit from immunotherapy (allergy desensitisation).”
