8 Ways to Keep Your Baby’s Nursery Allergens Free

When infants are born, their immune systems are very weak and are still in the process of growing. As they get older, their health can be affected by things that are inside and outside of them. Hence, you need to make sure that they remain in an environment that is free from threats.

Here are several ways that can be easily followed to keep the baby’s nursery safe and limit the bacteria or factors like dust, and molds that may trigger the allergies.

Besides eliminating pet hair and closing windows to prevent airborne pollen, choosing the proper bedding and cot mattress makes a significant impact. Maintaining a clean and fresh nursery significantly helps to eradicate dust mites, bed bugs, and other pests.

1. Keep the Bedding Covered and Clean

Use protective coverings to keep dust mites out of the mattresses, pillows, and box springs. Be sure to wash your bed linens, pillow covers and blankets once a week with hot water that’s at least 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54 degrees Celsius) to remove dust mites and allergens clinging to the beddings. Cover the comforters and regularly clean them.

By entirely zippering the mattress fully, the outer sheath safeguards from bed bugs and other asthmatic triggers. Substitute synthetic materials for natural ones, like wool or feathers.

2. Properly Wash the Pads

To keep away allergens, the pads of the infant also need to be washed once a week. Use hypoallergenic dryer sheets rather than perfumed ones, as they might hurt your baby’s sensitive skin.

There are numerous high-quality dryer sheets available on the market today, many of which were designed with newborns’ sensitive, allergy-prone skin in mind. You better choose one of them. And for those times when the baby’s bedding is in the wash, have at least a few extra and clean mattress pads and crib sheets on hand.

3. Proper Flooring

Get rid of the carpet and in its place, install hardwood or linoleum flooring, along with area rugs that are easy to wash. If that is not an option for you, then you can consider replacing your high-pile carpets with low-pile ones.

Additionally, vacuum the entire house once a week using a vacuum that includes a HEPA filter (high-efficiency particulate air filter) or a small-particle filter. Also, carpets should be shampooed on a regular basis.

4. Manage the Furniture

Choose the right furniture for your kid’s nursery. Pick leather, plastic, metal, or wood for furniture like chairs, dressers, and nightstands so that they can be cleaned easily. It’s better not to use any kind of upholstered furniture.

Gather up all the trinkets, tabletop, ornaments, books, and periodicals that are just sitting around doing nothing but collecting dust, and put them in storage. You can use the plastic bins for storing the kid’s toys, games, and plush animals.

5. Be Cautious of Plush Toys and Furry Pets

Mites, mold, and other bacteria can easily breed and multiply in stuffed or plush toys. To maintain your child’s toys or stuffed animals and keep them free of allergies, you should thoroughly wash them once a week. Also, it’s important to keep stuffed animals away from the baby’s crib.

Keeping them away from the bed will help to maintain a healthy sleeping environment for the baby and prevent allergic triggers from spreading from the toys to the cot.

Additionally, given that cats, dogs, and other fuzzy pets can act as carriers for allergies, it is best to keep them out of the baby’s nursery as much as possible. Give your pets a bath on a regular basis to minimize the allergen content of your pet’s dander.

6. Dust and Vacuum Regularly

The baby’s room should be dusted and vacuumed on a regular basis in order to reduce the amount of dust mites and other allergies that are present there. Eliminating allergens and maintaining a clean nursery can be accomplished by dusting and vacuuming once or twice per week. 

Pick a filter for the air that either traps small particles or includes a HEPA filter. During the time that the baby is sleeping, you should adjust the setting of your air filter so that clean air is directed toward your baby’s head.

7. Keep the Air of the Nursery Clean

The air in the baby’s room is kept clean and pleasant with the help of air purifiers and humidifiers. In order to make the nursery a more comfortable place for the baby to sleep at night, a purifier can be used to reduce allergens such as pet dander, dust, and pollen, while a humidifier can keep the air from becoming too dry.

You can use a dehumidifier in case the air becomes excessively moist, it can help prevent mold growth by removing excess moisture from the air in a damp space.

But make sure to use the humidifier and purifiers for a limited time and avoid pointing air purifiers or humidifiers directly at your baby’s dresser or crib as it can damage or make the wood damp. And in a damp environment mold and other bacteria take place and breed.

8. Check the Windows, Curtains and Blinds

Choose simple, machine-washable curtains made of cotton fiber or synthetic material. Vertical blinds are difficult to clean, so it is recommended to switch to washable roller shades instead. In order to avoid being exposed to pollen, it is best to keep the windows closed and the air conditioning on.

Remove any accumulated dampness or mold from the window sills and frames. If you are in a cold area, double-paned windows are a must. Allergens can be kept out of the baby’s nursery by keeping the windows and doors closed.

Final words

Prevention is the best cure. As a baby’s immune system is on the developing curve and they are prone to get triggered by bacteria or other allergens very easily, moms need to be extra vigilant and take preventative measures to ensure their child stays healthy.

Maintaining a germ- and allergen-free environment in the baby’s nursery can be done by adhering to the few basic but regular procedures that are mentioned above.