Spring Has Arrived
As the weather begins to warm, our homes begin to change too.
Spring is a lovely time to look again at the bedroom, bedding, indoor air and the areas that may have been closed up during the cooler months.
A few simple observations and seasonal care steps can help you prepare your home for the warmer months ahead.
Around the home this spring
We’ll explore a few areas of the home throughout spring, one small step at a time.
| Spring topic | What we’ll explore |
|---|---|
| Bedding Care | Washing, airing and refreshing bedding |
| Dust Mites & Allergens | What changes as warmer weather arrives |
| Bedroom Refresh | Looking under, around and behind the bed |
| Air Purifier Care | Checking filters and seasonal maintenance |
| Opening Up After Winter | Fresh air, ventilation and observing the home |
1. Take a look under your bed
Spring is a lovely time to move the bed and take a look underneath, around and behind it. Notice what has gathered over the cooler months like dust, stored items and areas where airflow may have been limited.
Where you can, move the bed and other furniture forward rather than simply cleaning around them. Give yourself enough room to really get in behind, damp dust and vacuum along the skirting boards, edges, corners, and clean the floor and wall surfaces that are usually hidden.
If you store items underneath the bed, take the opportunity to bring them out, wipe them down and have a good look at the items themselves as well as the space where they have been sitting.
While you are there, look carefully at the wall, floor and back of the bedhead for any signs of condensation, dampness, mould, staining or unusual odours.
A simple spring step
Once everything is clean and dry, consider whether stored items can be reduced or rearranged to leave a little more breathing space beneath and around the bed. When outdoor conditions allow, open the window and let some fresh air move through this often-overlooked part of the bedroom.
2. Bedding care
Refresh your bedding
Spring brings a natural opportunity to freshen the bedding that has carried us through the cooler months.
Wash sheets, pillowcases and other washable bedding according to their care instructions. Air pillows, quilts and doonas where suitable, and allow everything to dry thoroughly before returning it to the bed or to be stored away for the warmer months.
It is also a good time to look at your mattress and bedding protectors. Vacuum the mattress surface if appropriate, check protectors and covers for wear, and wash them according to their care instructions.
Take a look at what your bedding is made from
While the bedding is off the bed, it is also a good opportunity to notice what your sheets, blankets, doonas and other bedding are made from.
Natural, breathable fibres such as cotton, wool and silk can help heat and moisture move through the bedding. This can be particularly helpful for people who tend to become hot or sweaty during sleep, as some blended or synthetic materials may hold more heat and moisture around the body.
Spring is a lovely time to look not only at how we care for our bedding, but what we choose to sleep in as well.
Take a look at the age and condition too
Spring is also a useful time to consider the age and condition of the bedding we use every night. Pillows are worth reviewing at around the two-year mark by noticing whether they are still supportive, or have become flattened, lumpy or difficult to clean and dry well.
Mattresses are a much bigger investment. Around ten years can be a useful point to take a closer look, rather than simply replacing a mattress because of its age. Notice what it is doing. Is it sagging, developing hollows, losing support, deteriorating around the edges or showing staining, odours or signs of moisture?
Age can prompt us to look; condition helps us decide what comes next.
Small spring note: While the bedding is off the bed, take the opportunity to look at what you have, how it is ageing and what may need a little care before everything goes back together.
3. Dust mites & allergens
Notice what changes as the weather warms
As spring arrives, warmer days can change the conditions inside our homes. Bedrooms may become warmer, windows may be opened more often, and pollen and outdoor particles can begin finding their way indoors.
Dust mites are a natural part of our indoor environment, and we commonly share our sleeping spaces with them. Our beds provide warmth, moisture and the shed skin cells that dust mites feed on. Temperature and relative humidity also influence how well they survive, which is why it is useful to observe the bedroom as the seasons change.
It is not only the dust mites themselves that we are considering. Their faecal particles and body remains contain allergens that become part of the dust within our bedding and home. As bedding is used and disturbed, some of these very small particles can become airborne and may be inhaled, particularly close to where we breathe while sleeping.
Small changes can work together
Regular vacuuming, caring for bedding, managing indoor humidity and reducing dust accumulation can all form part of reducing exposure to dust mite allergens.
For someone sensitive to dust mite allergens, allergen-barrier covers on the mattress, pillows and doona can provide an additional layer between the sleeper and the allergens within the bedding. Spring is a useful time to check that existing covers are clean, intact and being used as intended.
Your pillow deserves particular attention too because it sits so close to your breathing zone each night. This connects back to the age-and-condition check above by looking at how the pillow is ageing, how well it can be cleaned and dried, and whether it is still something you want close to your face night after night.
Spring observation: Keep an eye on your hygrometer as the season changes. It can help you see what is happening with both relative humidity and temperature inside your bedroom rather than guessing from how the room feels.
4. Bedroom refresh
Spring is a lovely time to look beyond the bed and notice the bedroom as a whole.
Take a slow walk around the room. Look behind bedside tables and furniture, along skirting boards, around windows and curtains, across carpeted areas, and inside wardrobes. These quieter areas can tell us quite a lot about how the room has managed the cooler months.
If you have carpet, take a closer look rather than simply giving it the usual vacuum. Move smaller furniture where you can and vacuum underneath and around the edges of the room, along the skirting boards and into corners. Notice areas where dust and debris have accumulated, where the carpet feels different underfoot, or where there are stains, odours or signs of moisture.
Carpet can hold dust, skin cells, fibres, pet dander and other particles within its pile, so a slower, more thorough vacuum can be a useful part of the spring bedroom refresh.
Notice too any musty or unusual smells, condensation marks, changes to paint or surfaces, and areas where furniture sits very closely against an external wall.
Give the room a little breathing space
Where practical, create a little space between larger pieces of furniture and walls so air has an opportunity to move.
Open wardrobes and cupboards, take out items that have been sitting untouched, and notice whether clothing, shoes or stored belongings feel or smell different.
Curtains, blinds, window tracks and flyscreens can also benefit from some spring attention, particularly as windows begin opening more often.
Spring observation: Use your senses. Look, smell and feel. A home often gives us small clues before an issue becomes obvious.
5. Air purifier care
Give your air purifier a spring check
An air purifier quietly works away in the background, so it can be easy to forget that it needs a little care too.
Spring is a useful seasonal reminder to check your purifier, particularly after months when the home may have been more enclosed.
Look at the pre-filter and filters, check when they were last changed, and gently clean the outside of the unit and the air intake areas according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Check rather than guess
Filters have different roles and replacement intervals, so their condition and the manufacturer’s recommendations are more useful than simply replacing everything at the same time.
A home with pets, renovations, smoke, higher dust levels or other airborne contaminants may place different demands on filtration than another home.
Spring observation: Make a note of the date when you check or replace each filter. It makes the next seasonal check much easier.
6. Opening up after winter
Welcome fresh air back into the home
As the weather becomes milder, spring can bring more opportunities to open windows and doors and reconnect the home with outdoor air.
Choose suitable times of day and notice how air actually moves through your home. Opening one window may have little effect, while opening windows or doors on different sides of the home can create a pathway for air to travel.
Fresh air can help move accumulated indoor air and moisture, and it simply changes how a home feels.
Observe the conditions outside too
Ventilation is not about having every window open all day.
Consider what is happening outdoors, whether there is rain, humidity, smoke, pollen, traffic or other sources of pollution, and choose the times that best suit your home and household.
Outdoor conditions can change through the day too. Wind can move pollen, dust and other particles through the air, while changes in temperature and weather can influence how pollutants disperse or accumulate. If outdoor air quality or pollen is a concern, check local conditions rather than assuming that opening the home at the same time each day will always be the best choice.
Spring observation: Stand quietly in different rooms with the windows open. Can you actually feel the air moving? This simple observation can teach you quite a lot about how your home breathes.
One small step at a time
You do not need to refresh the whole home in one weekend. Choose one area, notice what is happening, make one useful change — and then move on to the next.
A healthier home grows from awareness of the little things we see along the way.
