Allergy season approacheth. Today we’ve got tips to help. Plus:
Seasonal allergies? These 3 simple upgrades can help. |
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| NYT Wirecutter |
 | By Brittney Ho Brittney is a newsletters editor at Wirecutter. |
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To the person I saw on my commute on Monday carrying nothing but a bag of Sumo oranges and a giant multipack of allergy meds: I see you. I am you.
This week in New York has brought some of the year’s first warm — nay, balmy! — days. And with it, dreaded allergy season. We may not be able to control the budding trees, growing grass, or increasing pollen count, but we can improve the air indoors, which is one of the most effective ways to mitigate seasonal allergies. Below, a few quick tips from Wirecutter’s experts to help keep the air fresh and your sneezes at bay:
- Get an air purifier: This simple machine rapidly and permanently captures most common airborne allergens, including pollen. If you already have a purifier, great: Don’t forget to clean the prefilter monthly. And make sure it’s placed at least 18 inches from any walls or furniture and close the windows to get the best use out of it.
- Switch to a good bagged vacuum: We recommend bagged vacuums for people with allergies, because they suck dust, debris, and allergens into a sealed, replaceable bag that’s easy to throw away without blowing back into your face. Special projects director Christine Cyr Clisset swears by her Miele, a brand Wirecutter has loved for a decade. “The air feels cleaner,” she writes. But heed her warning: “If someone in your household has allergies, don’t be like me and cheap out on the bags.”
- Upgrade your dusting tool: Dust — a cocktail of dead skin cells, dander, pollen, and more — can trigger allergies, especially when it becomes airborne. Which is why you should put down the feather duster. Instead, cleaning expert Caroline Mullen’s go-to method for capturing dust lurking on flat surfaces around the house is a rag or a microfiber cloth dampened with water or all-purpose cleaner.
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Test your spring-cleaning knowledge. Take our quiz. |
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| Dana Davis/NYT Wirecutter; source photos by Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter, AdobeStock |
It helps to know a bit about what you’re tackling, what actually needs to be disinfected, and how frequently you need to clean certain spaces in order to make the season feel like an actually doable reset.
Plus, simple steps to freshen up your home→
One last (clean-y) thing: A perfect basket for organizing |
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| Marki Williams/NYT Wirecutter |
Whether you’re tidying up a crowded entryway or looking for a place to store your collection of fuzzy socks, our home-decor experts are big fans of this versatile IKEA basket. Its metal mesh is not only nice-looking, it makes it easy to see its contents.
A perfect little vessel for mail, wallets, and other clutter→
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Achoo!
You can reach the Wirecutter Newsletters team at newsletters@wirecutter.com. We can’t always respond, but we do love to hear from you.
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