Sneezing, itching, and a running nose? No problem! While flu season may still be in full swing, we have the scoop on easy ways to keep your home germ-, virus- and allergen-free.

Clean and disinfect high traffic areas of your home: There are a lot of places for germs to hide, such as the kitchen sink, cutting board, doorknobs, desks, and entertainment centers. After making dinner be sure to fully wipe down the kitchen with an anti-bacterial sanitizer to minimize spreading those microbes (like E. coli) around the rest of the house. Wipe down doorknobs, desks, and entertainment centers once a day, or every few days, as your family comes in contact with germs every day.

Store your toothbrush properly: Health Magazine says, “The human mouth contains about 100 million microbes per milliliter of saliva. Those microbes eat the same food you do, and when you brush, food particles and bacteria stick to your toothbrush. The unhappy result: an overgrowth of germs on your brush.” After brushing your teeth we suggest rinsing your toothbrush with hot water and place it in an upright position. Placing it on the counter can cause it to come in contact with other germs, and placing it in a travel case causes excess moisture where bacteria can thrive. The American Dental Association suggests replacing your toothbrush every three months, but during those months you can even throw your toothbrush in the dishwasher for a quick clean.

Clean your cell phones, tech and toys often: We touch our phones so often throughout the day, and are big carriers of germs such as staph or flu viruses. Wipe down phones, tech, and toys with a disinfecting product a few times a week to ensure it stays germ-free.

Create a new policy - no shoes in the house: Where you go, your shoes go. Pollen, germs, and other things stick to your shoes, so when you walk into your house, these microbes invade your home. Create a new family-wide policy: no shoes in the house. Removing your shoes at the door will help keep these germs from spreading across your house.

Look for places where mold might be hiding: Eliminate places where mold might be hiding, such as excess clutter, or food either on the countertops or refrigerator. And, you want to make sure you keep a climate-controlled home between 68 and 74 degrees. Any warmer than that can create moisture due to humidity which then causes mold growth in your walls.

Make handwashing fun: Kids are active and can find messes anywhere. Teaching them to keep track of when handwashing should occur during certain activities is important: before mealtime, before playing with babies, after playing with friends, after coming home from school, after using the bathroom, and after every cough and sneeze. You can make hand washing a fun process for them by coming up with a happy tune that ends when their handwashing is done and having a reward system for them. Kids love sticking another gold star onto their charts.

Wash your sheets and clothes at least once a week: We spend a lot of time in our bedrooms, so it’s not surprising this is a place where germs would congregate. We shed dead skin cells not only on the clothes we toss into the dirty laundry hamper but also on our bedding and across the room. To control build-up, wash bedding in hot water at least once per week. Turn up the water heater to a dust mite–killing 130 degrees before you wash, and turn it back down afterward. And consider using an anti-allergy mattress wrap, which can keep mite waste from contaminating your air. Wet-mop the floor and clean surfaces with an antibacterial product, and don't let damp clothes sit in a hamper longer than a day.

Another solution to making sure your home is germ-free is the iAdaptAir® HEPA air purifier. The iAdaptAir® combines the top five air purification technologies - silver ion, Bi-Polar® ionization, germicidal ultraviolet, True HEPA, and carbon filtration into one product.  The germicidal ultraviolet technology seamlessly eliminates 99 percent of germs and viruses in the air and surrounding surfaces, and goes a step further than just being an air purifier – it sanitizes the rooms your family frequents, ensuring that the air they breathe and the surfaces they (and their favorite necessities) touch are germ-free!