If you have real problems with indoor allergies, don’t despair. In some cases, a few well-chosen purchases or renovations can make all the difference in the comfort of your home. If you’ve got some spare dollars floating around, here are some suggestions for where best to invest it (and we aren’t talking about the stock market). These items are listed generally from least to most expensive:

• While much of the cleaning around your house can be done by you, get your carpets professionally cleaned. Look for a cleaning service which uses minimal water (so that you avoid mold in your carpets). While the carpets are being cleaned, have your upholstered furniture cleaned, too. Your favorite chair will be a haven for dust mites as well as other allergens.

• Add quality dust mite covers to all mattresses, box springs and pillows. These covers keep your skin cells (the dust mite’s preferred food) away from the likely source of the mites (inside your bed’s component parts). It’s a simple strategy to reduce dust mites – and it works.

• Get a dehumidifier. Lower humidity means less mold. Also, keeping the humidity in your home within the range of 30 to 50 per cent helps your family to avoid illness because the nasal passages will be properly hydrated by the air you breathe. Don’t let your dehumidifier become a source of allergens! Be sure to clean it at least once a week.

• Wallpaper can harbor mold and other allergens. For the kitchen or bathroom, tile is an obvious alternative. In the rest of your home, paint in a mold-resistant enamel paint that will make walls easy to clean.

• Another major source of "soft" surfaces is your living room and upholstered furniture. A better choice would be seating made from leather or wood. Once you’ve got that new furniture, you can add comfort and softness with washable decorator pillows.

• Get rid of those carpets and put in hardwood, laminate or tile. Any hard surface floor will do the trick. The major collector of allergens in your home is that wall-to-wall carpet. If you’ve got the time or the money, a healthier floor can really help.

Like all allergies, indoor allergies need to be managed. Your top method of managing allergies is always avoiding them. With a few simple changes and some small purchases – or perhaps a few renovations – you can do just that!