How to keep pollen and mold spores down inside a Friendswood house, timed to the two allergy seasons the Houston Health Department measures each year.
Allergy season in Friendswood does not come once. Tree pollen fills the late winter and spring, cedar elm and ragweed return in the fall, and mold spores climb whenever the air is warm and wet, which here is most of the time. A home cannot be made pollen free, but it can be kept far cleaner than the air outside.
This guide follows the counts that matter, the rooms where pollen settles, and how to set a cleaning routine around the local calendar.
The Houston Health Department counts pollen and mold with a Burkard spore trap on the roof of its laboratory. The trap samples air 24 hours a day, and the department posts counts Monday through Friday. That makes it the most useful local check for Friendswood households planning a cleaning day.
The department measures tree pollen across a season that runs from mid January through mid April, and it measures cedar elm pollen again in September and October. Fall adds weeds: in mid October it rated weed pollen heavy at 342 grains per cubic meter, almost all ragweed, and counted 7,744 mold spores per cubic meter the same day.
Hard freezes are rare along this stretch of the Gulf Coast. Houston Hobby Airport averages only about four nights a year at or below freezing, and the normal January low is 46.1 degrees. With so little cold, the plant year barely stops, and trees begin releasing pollen while much of the country is still in winter.
Humidity extends the mold side of the problem. Summer dew points average 72 to 73 degrees, and damp air and damp surfaces are where mold spores settle and grow. An allergy plan here has to deal with both pollen and moisture.
Pollen comes in on air, shoes, clothes, hair and pets, and it settles on anything flat. The entry and the main living area take the most. Bedrooms matter most for sleep, and in Friendswood, where about half of homes have four or more bedrooms, that is a lot of bedding and a lot of soft surfaces.
The cleaning that helps most is the kind that removes pollen rather than moving it around: damp dusting rather than dry, vacuuming with a sealed filter, and washing fabric in hot water.
Mid January to mid April, tree pollen. Keep windows closed on high count days and run the air conditioning on recirculate. Wash bedding every week in hot water. Wipe sills and dust ceiling fans more often than usual, and change the HVAC filter on schedule. A bi-weekly Recurring House Clean keeps floors, reachable baseboards and blind slats clear through these months.
Mid April, the reset. When tree season ends, a One-Time Deep Clean clears what built up: hand washed baseboards, wet-wiped blinds, window tracks, and fans, fixtures and vents wiped in place.
September and October, cedar elm, ragweed and mold. Repeat the spring routine, and add attention to damp areas, since mold spores run high. Vacuum couch crevices and wash throws and pet beds.
Dogs that go in and out carry pollen on their coats, and rainy months add mud. Hobby Airport records 55.62 inches of rain a year, so entry mats and a towel by the back door earn their place. Shoes off at the door keeps much of the outdoor load out of carpeted rooms.
Anyone with severe allergies or asthma should ask a doctor what level of cleaning is right for the home. A cleaning plan helps, but it is not medical treatment. For the rest of the year's tasks, see the seasonal cleaning calendar.
The questions Friendswood homeowners ask most often about this topic, answered plainly.
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