Central Pennsylvania's pollen season can begin in the first week of March and run to the first frost. Here is how to keep pollen, leaf mold and dust mites down in a Reading home.
A Penn State Health allergist in Hershey, describing this part of the state, lays out a long season: tree pollen from as early as the first week of March, grass pollen through April and May, ragweed from early fall to the first frost, and mold once leaves get wet. Dust mites do not take a season off at all. This guide covers the housekeeping side. For treatment, talk to your doctor.
Trees come first. Central Pennsylvania's tree pollen season can start as early as the first week of March.
Grass follows, rising through April and May.
Ragweed runs from early fall to the first frost.
Mold rises once fallen leaves get wet, and Reading's weather helps it along. September is the wettest month, at 4.88 inches, with annual precipitation of 45.21 inches.
Dust mites in bedding, pillows and carpets cause symptoms year round, according to Penn State Health.
With about 74.6 percent of the city's units built before 1960, many homes here have older windows, gaps around frames and basements that can stay damp. Fine pollen and dust get in through small openings, and old radiators and vents hold on to what lands on them. Carpets laid over old floors also tend to hold on to dust.
That makes filtering and damp dusting more important than in a tightly sealed new house. Be careful, though. The U.S. EPA says settled lead dust in homes built before 1978 can re-enter the air when a home is vacuumed or swept. In an old house, a vacuum with a good filter and a damp cloth are the right tools for more than one reason.
Penn State Health advises allergy sufferers not to sleep with windows open and to change central air conditioning filters regularly. Those two steps alone cover a lot of ground. Here are others that fit a Reading home.
Mold is a common trigger, and an old basement in a wet climate is a natural place for it. June and July each bring 4.77 inches of precipitation in a normal year, and about 24 days a year reach 90 degrees or more, so moisture can linger. Run a dehumidifier, keep stored items off the floor and run bathroom fans after every shower.
Lower parts of the city near the Schuylkill River were inundated by Hurricane Agnes in 1972 and by a 2006 flood. If your home has that kind of history and you still notice musty smells, have it looked at. Cleaners do not remediate mold, so a specialist needs to deal with the source.
Someone with allergies may be the last person who should be doing the dusting, and a Recurring House Clean can take that off their list. Weekly or bi-weekly works well in peak season. A One-Time Deep Clean goes further into blinds, baseboards, window tracks, and fans and vents wiped in place, which is where much of the year's dust ends up.
Tell your cleaner about any sensitivities, including fragrance, and whether anyone at home will be there during the visit. The seasonal calendar shows when each wave of pollen tends to arrive.
The questions Reading homeowners ask most often about this topic, answered plainly.
TotalCare Cleaning will service Reading and surrounding areas with background-checked cleaners and is insured up to $1 million. Re-clean guarantee: if we missed something, tell us by the end of the next day and we come back to fix it. Beyond Clean. TotalCare.
