How to Decorate Your Child's Bedroom When They Have Allergies or Asthma Issues

The main key to keeping a child's bedroom free of allergens such as dust mites, animal dander, mold or fungus is to create an environment that is inhospitable to the dust that carries them. There are certain things that you should remember when you go to re-do or decorate a child's bedroom who has allergies or asthma. The following tips will help to prepare a clean and allergen-free room for your child.

Preparing the bed

Cover the bed's mattress and box spring in an airtight, washable plastic zipper cover that is sold specifically for this purpose. Try to find foam or nonallergenic synthetic pillows for the bed. Avoid feather or down pillows at all cost. Stick with natural cotton-fiber blankets and sheets for the bed. Be sure to wash all the bedding weekly in very hot water to kill dust mites and remove skin particles that may bother allergies or worsen asthma.

Picking the flooring for the child's bedroom

A hardwood floor is the best choice for a child's bedroom when they suffer from allergies or asthma. Carpet will collect dust and the foam rubber padding has chemicals in it that can cause an allergic reaction.

Dressing the window

Fabric accessories, like window drapes are notorious for collecting dust. For a child's bedroom who has allergies or asthma, keep the window treatments simple such as a roller blind or a vinyl shade. Roller blinds collect less dust than min-blinds do. If you want it to coordinate with the room, then find one that has a matching print for the room or use fabric paint and stencil a design on the shade yourself.

Dry air is the best

Don't wait until summer time when it is extremely hot to start running the air conditioner in your child's bedroom. Start the air conditioner in the spring, when allergies first start up. To maintain an ideal humidity in the room, you may need to run a dehumidifier in the child's bedroom. Make sure to change the filters on a regular basis. Also look into a HEPA filtration unit if you child has severe allergies or asthma.

Keep the bedroom simple

Your child may not like this tip so much, but it will help with asthma and allergies. In general, keep your child's bedroom free of clutter, knick-knacks, stuffed animals and unnecessary toys. The more items that are in the child's bedroom, the harder it will be to dust and the less surfaces that are in the room, the less dust there will be. If the child does have a favorite stuffed toy, then make sure to wash it every couple of days to keep it free of allergens.

Keep animals out

If you have a pet, it is a good idea to keep the animals out of the child's bedroom. Even if they are not allergic to the pet or they can tolerate the pet, it's still a good idea to have one room in the house where the child can go and not have to worry about pet dander.

These tips will get you started, but you need to make sure that you are cleaning the bedroom at least every other day to keep the dust away.