If you suffer from asthma and allergies, one common trigger is often your flooring. Carpets are one of the absolute worst choices for asthma and allergy suffers. Fortunately, there are many other floor covering choices that may help you to suffer less from your problem.

Many allergy and asthma suffers find that hard surfaced flooring is a better choice for them than carpet. Carpet fibers can trap dander which becomes a food source for dust mites. Dust mites are a common trigger for both allergy and asthma sufferers.

Fortunately there are many flooring choices that will help you not only to feel better but to also have a very decorative and stylish home.

Floor tiles are available in many types, colors and styles. Floor tiles are no longer just an industrial flooring choice but can be beautiful and functional. In addition, the plastic or rubber tiles, you will find a wide variety of ceramic tiles. These tiles make a beautiful floor choice. For an even more elegant look, choose marble tiles for your flooring.

Linoleum is a great choice for bathrooms and kitchens. It is very durable and easy to keep clean. It is available in many color choices and patterns to match your home.

For living areas, laminates make a great choice. They offer the beauty of traditional wood floors, but are easier to maintain. They are less expensive than wood floors and are prefinished.

There are also some new choices for concrete flooring that are becoming very popular these days. Concrete stains offer another great flooring choice form many businesses as well as homes. In addition to being hypoallergenic, concrete flooring is also fire proof.

Even though you have hard surfaced floors, you should realize that there is still dander that falls to your floor every day. The difference in your hard surfaced floor and carpet is that it is easier for you to remove the dander from your floor that it would be to remove it from carpet. While sweeping does an adequate job at removing dander from hard surfaced floors, it also causes it to be suspended in the air. A vacuum, especially one with a HEPA filter not only picks up the dander, it filters it out so that it is not suspended in the air to trigger another attack.

In addition to vacuuming daily, you should also use damp mops as directed by the manufacturer of your flooring to clean the floor on a weekly basis. This allows a final cleanup of any other particles that may be stuck to the floors.

If area rugs are used, they should be small enough that they can be laundered every week. If you vacuum daily, and wash weekly, the dander and dust mites should be kept to a minimum.

Do not forget to also use your vacuum to clean curtains as well as furniture covers. If you choose curtains that can be washed at home and slip covers for your furniture, these too can be washed and dried weekly if necessary in order to keep your allergies and asthma at bay.