Suffering from allergies? Buy a rug!

To get right to the point: if you suffer from allergies, such as dust mite or pollen allergy, there is no need to remove all rugs from your home. In fact, it’s better to get a rug ín your home if you don’t already have one.

That sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Because for a lot of people, the rug is actually seen as a real ‘dust nest’. And they are right to do so. But why get a rug if you want to avoid dust? First, let’s see what allergies we are actually talking about.

Dust mite and pollen allergy

‘ACHOO!’Those who suffer from it know exactly the difference between their allergy and a cold. The eyes begin to itch, you sneeze all over the place and feel like you have to breathe through a straw. This annoying allergy also makes it difficult to sleep, as you find it harder to breathe due to the harmful dust mites or pollen that have collected in your room. They are often in your clothes, mattress or pillow.

Dust mite allergy

In house dust mite allergy, the immune system reacts to the droppings of dust mites that get into dust. They are super tiny critters that you cannot see with the naked eye, but they cause quite a lot of misery. The best thing you can do to combat dust mites is to make sure there is as little dust in the house as possible, ventilate well, turn up the heat every now and then and buy a rug.

Pollen allergy

An allergy to airborne pollen is also known as hay fever. This allergy manifests itself a few times a year when the pollen swirls nicely through the air. This is often in spring and summer. To combat a pollen allergy, it is best to stay indoors when a so-called ‘pollen alarm’ is issued and only ventilate late at night to minimise the amount of pollen entering your home. In addition, even if you have a pollen allergy, it is smart to put a rug in your room.

A rug to combat your allergies

Why is a rug in the house good for people with house dust mite or pollen allergies? You would say that a rug is precisely what triggers allergies. Pollen and house dust collect precisely in such a piece of dust on the floor, right? True, but that is precisely why it works so well.

As pollen and dust mites collect in the rug, they no longer swirl in all directions around the room. The rug thus becomes a collection bin of the allergy sufferer’s greatest enemies, which then removes all harmful particles from the room at once with a simple vacuuming action. You probably hadn’t thought about that yet, had you? The best place to put a rug is near the window or a door, so that pollen does not have to travel across the room before landing on the rug.

If you buy a rug made of natural materials, such as jute or sisal then the rug works against your allergy in a different way. The rug neutralises the allergens flying around. The fibres of rugs made from these natural materials are also resistant to moulds that often trigger allergies. A rug made of polypropylene is also a good choice if you are looking for a mould-resistant rug.

More benefits of a rug if you are allergic

If you suffer from allergies then it is important to be in a clean environment. So it is important to clean a rug just like the rest of the house. The great thing about a rug is that you can move it around and thus very easily clean it outside, so the pollen and dust mite droppings don’t still swirl around your house. You can also steam your rug, but this is less effective because the damp spots left behind will give mould a nice breeding ground.

On a smooth floor, a layer of dust collects within two days. So if you suffer from allergies, you will actually have to wet mop the floor every two days. Some people even swear by wiping a smooth floor once a day. A rug, on the other hand, only needs to be vacuumed once a week. If you lay a rug on a smooth floor, the dust will collect in the rug, so you won’t have to mop as often.

Less sneezing with a rug nearby

All in all, it’s not a bad idea to buy a rug if you suffer from allergies. It is important to keep the rug clean, but as you can move it around, you can easily do this outside once a week. However, because of the cleaning process, it is often better to use a low pile rug in the house. Simply because the vacuum glides over that a lot easier than over a thick rug.

Choosing the right vacuum helps a little extra. In fact, many modern vacuums come with an anti-allergenic filter, which ensures that dust particles do not still fly up your nose. Are you allergic? So don’t be afraid to put a rug in your home, because that ‘dust nest’ will ensure that you can breathe normally.