If you suffer from hay fever, you often notice that the night is just as difficult as the day outside. You lie still for hours with your face close to the pillow, and pollen that has entered during the day via clothing, hair, or an open window tends to accumulate in the bedroom. With a few targeted adjustments, you can keep most of it at bay.
Why the bedroom is a vulnerable spot
During the day, you move through the house without actively thinking about ventilation. At night, however, you spend hours in the same room. Pollen that settles in bedding, on clothing, or in carpets stays there until you stir it up or inhale it. This explains why many people with hay fever experience the most symptoms early in the morning, even if they spent little time outside the day before.
Practical steps to keep pollen out
- Keep windows closed during peak hours. Pollen concentrations are generally highest on dry, windy days. It is better to ventilate briefly in the early morning or after a rain shower, when the air has been washed clean.
- Wash your hair before going to bed. Hair attracts pollen like a magnet and carries it onto the pillow.
- Change clothes outside the bedroom. Do not drop clothing worn outside onto the bed.
- Wash bedding regularly at a minimum of 60 degrees. This removes accumulated pollen and dust mites in one go.
- Keep pets out of the bedroom during pollen season. Fur carries pollen just as easily as clothing.
- Vacuum with an appliance equipped with a HEPA filter. A standard vacuum cleaner often blows fine particles back into the air instead of trapping them.
- Do not dry laundry outside during the season. Laundry hung outside catches as much pollen as your hair does.
What if pollen gets inside anyway
You can never get a bedroom completely pollen-free, especially if you still have to ventilate occasionally. An air purifier with a HEPA13 filter captures pollen that ends up in the air, along with fine particulate matter and other dust. Many people with hay fever find that this makes their bedroom feel more comfortable, especially in combination with the tips above.
In our experience, the AirPure Plus PA244 is well-suited for this. It features a HEPA13 filter that, according to specifications, filters 99.97 percent of fine particulate matter, pollen, bacteria, and microplastics from the air; it is quiet enough at 28 to 60 dB to run at night, and includes a sleep timer and night mode so it continues to work unnoticed while you sleep.
Want to know more about the rest of your home during pollen season? View the full range of air purifiers at dynter.eu.