Allergy hotspots in the home

Up to 70 percent of potted plants give off allergy-triggering mold spores - and if you’re inhaling them all night long while you sleep, you could wake up every morning with a sore throat, stuffy nose, dry cough and other symptoms, says Christopher Randolph, M.D., an allergist at Connecticut’s Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Quick fix: Move as many of your bedroom plants as possible into other rooms, and consider decorating your sleeping zone with peace lilies, instead. This tropical plant, with its large, dark green leaves and beautiful white blooms,  actually soaks up airborne mold spores and uses them for nourishment, reducing a room’s mold count as much as 60 percent.

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Refrigerators and bathrooms get lots of attention as mold-havens but University of Arizona researchers say washing machines can also harbor millions of these allergy triggers, due to poor drainage and damp crevices, seals and gaskets.

The result: Mold spores not only get embedded in clothing, but if the levels are high enough, you’ll inhale them every time you’re in the laundry room, says Dr. Randolph. To kill up to 100 percent of washing machine mold in one shot, pour 8 ounces of bleach into your empty washer and run it for a full cycle at the hottest temperature setting.

To halt future growth of moisture-loving mold, leave the washing machine door and detergent dispenser cover open to help the machine dry out completely.

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There’s no question that burning scented candles can create a warm feeling in any room, but research from the Environmental Protection Agency suggests those flickering flames also emit chemicals that can nudge indoor pollutant levels up to levels considered illegal outdoors.

Plus, the oils that give scented candles their distinctive smells can irritate and inflame the nasal cavities, triggering a runny nose and watery eyes even if you’re not normally allergy-prone, says James Wedner, M.D., chief of allergy and immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Instead, opt for other forms of mood lighting, such as low-watt frosted bulbs in lamps, then put out bowls of fresh potpourri to add a soothing scent.

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According to UCLA researchers, at least 50 percent of rarely-washed outerwear is coated with enough allergens to trigger flare-ups. Luckily, you don’t need to do mountains of laundry every week to cure the problem.

Allergen levels were higher in clothing washed less frequently, according to researchers at the Institute of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Sydney, Australia. They also noted that those who wore wool clothes, as opposed to cotton, had about 10 times more dust mites and cat dander measured on their clothing.

'Your best bet is to store them in sealed plastic containers during warmer weather,' says Dr. Bassett, 'then wash them several times over the winter to keep allergen build-up under control.'

Parka alert: Dust mites love burrowing into down, but tossing fluffy down-filled jackets into a hot dryer once a week for 20 minutes will quickly kill mites and their eggs.

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According to the EPA, allergens quickly build up inside tightly-sealed homes, reaching levels more than triple what you inhale outdoors. To clear them out fast - without making your heating costs skyrocket - open a few windows for 15 minutes daily to let a fresh breeze blow through.

Experts at Canada’s National Research Council say a daily blast of fresh air is so effective at whisking out airborne mold spores, dust mites and more, that it can cut winter allergy flare-ups in half.

Also smart: Keep your home smoke-free. Inhaling secondhand smoke worsens allergies for four days after exposure, by stimulating production of inflammatory proteins called cytokines, say doctors at the University of California, Davis.

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Alcohol in moderation may be good for your heart, but indulging in more than one serving daily can worsen allergy symptoms. Alcohol makes immune cells more likely to overreact when they’re exposed to allergens, say researchers at the University of Santiago in Spain.

So stick with a single serving daily - that’s 120ml of wine, 3/4 pint beer or 1 45ml spirits. And drink 3 pint glasses of water or other nonalcoholic beverages during the day.

Although researchers aren’t sure why, studies at the University of Washington in Seattle suggest just staying well-hydrated helps 38 percent of women dampen their allergy symptoms.

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That much-used mat harbors at least 10 times more dust mites and mold than the floor it’s laying on. 'These allergy triggers reproduce like crazy when they’re surrounded by humidity - and a bathmat that’s used daily is rarely ever truly dry,' explains Dr. Bassett.

To protect yourself, wash your bathmat once a week in hot water, then dry it completely before it putting back in its usual place. Researchers at the University of Cincinnati say that’s all it takes to keep this allergy hot spot under control.

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Like carpeting, stuffed animals are magnets for dander, pollen and other airborne allergens and they can become breeding grounds for dust mites, say researchers at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

Giving them the bathmat treatment (running them through a hot washer and dryer every week) can solve the problem fast, but many stuffed animals are too delicate for that type of treatment. If you have enough room, you can toss them in your freezer overnight, suggests Neeti Gupta, M.D., an allergist and immunologist in East Windsor, N.J. 'Dust mites are surprisingly sensitive to cold and dry air, so that’s a great way to kill them off.'

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