There are many reasons you may find yourself needing to do a health check on your bedroom. Perhaps you haven’t touched it in the last 20 years. Or perhaps you still haven’t upgraded from the 2nd-hand furnishings you got right after striking out on your own. Whatever the reason, it’s important for the health and safety of you and your family members that you ensure that there are no insidious surprises that could affect your health.

Clear out

The first step in giving your bedroom a health check is to clear everything out. Just like a doctor doing an X-ray, getting a look beyond the apparent can help you identify issues that need to be resolved. Some of these may just be stylistic or cleaning issues, but some may actually have a serious impact on your health.

Floors

Once you’ve got everything out, check around the baseboards for signs of rot, damage, or infestation. This is one of the easiest ways to find out if you have a pest problem. Small black droppings about the size of the tip that can be seen around doorbells or walls of a pencil indicate mice. Droppings that are even smaller and look like tiny round balls normally indicate roaches or other insects.

NOTE: If you did find droppings, wear a respirator when you clean up to avoid becoming ill from any airborne particles.

Once you’ve checked all around, go ahead and mop or, if you have carpet, vacuum the bedroom. If you do have carpet, consider using a conditioner to give it a deeper clean and eliminate scents that have settled. Either way, this is your chance to get your floor seriously clean in all of the places you couldn’t reach before.

Furniture

Depending on the age, your furniture may not need more than a simple wipe down, but don’t neglect a careful inspection first. Check dressers, nightstands and beds for any discoloration on their sides or back. If you live in an area with higher humidity, pay particular attention to items situated near HVAC vents. Mold can grow very easily on furniture and can turn into a lasting, widespread problem that affects the health of your entire family.

If you do locate mold, spray it down with undistilled white vinegar, wipe off the overgrowth, and then spray it again to let it penetrate for over an hour. Mold has a type of roots that penetrate deeply into furniture, particularly wood and other porous materials. Letting the vinegar soak in gives it a chance to kill any mold deep down, preventing regrowth. After an hour, spray and wipe it one more time and let it air out to get rid of the vinegar smell.

Err on the side of caution on this one. If it looks like the furniture has widespread mold growth or you find it on multiple pieces, don’t risk your health: get rid of it immediately! Your long-term health is not worth holding on to an old dresser, especially with such a variety of cheap bedroom dressers for sale online.

Once it’s time to move everything back in, try a new arrangement. Arranging furniture can be great for your mental health!