As the weather changes, mud and rain come home in the form of paw prints, shoe prints, and possibly indoor puddles of unusual size. Later in the season, if you live in snowy parts of the world, rock salt dissolving on your walkway may hitchhike into your home and onto your floors, leaving a white residue. But looks aside, the weather can also affect the long-term health of you and your home. Here’s how to keep the elements outdoors:

Create a Water Barrier

Protect your floors. Home improvement stores carry large doormats that will shorten the sodden trail of sopping wet feet. The rule is the bigger the better; you want a lot of surface area to absorb shoe run-off. If the largest mat you can find is only a couple by three feet, use more than one, end to end.

 

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An additional large mat just inside the door is useful as well, especially if it is highly absorbent and machine washable. The entryway is a good place for dripping home-comers (humans or pets) to remove wet outerwear (in the case of people) and to towel off. Keep dry towels near the door, in the coat closet or rolled up in a handy basket.

Provide a bucket of sufficient height to receive wet umbrellas. If you are toting your umbrella into the rain again soon, there is no need to pay further attention to it. Just empty the bucket if water accumulates in the bottom. You’ll want the umbrella to be dry for longer-term storage. If you have the space, lay a towel on a patch of floor, where umbrellas in full billow can dry without blocking foot traffic. If space is tight, before closing the umbrella, pat it gently with a cloth. It will still be slightly damp, so hang it or leave it standing in closed position in a place where air can finish the job.

Immediately mop or towel up water that defies all barricades, to prevent a spreading mud motif or, worse, damage to water-sensitive flooring materials, such as wood.

Beyond the Cosmetic

Foggy or chronically rainy conditions make for clammy or sticky air, which, as nature would have it, eventually circulates into the house. Hot, steamy showers, wet laundry hung to dry, and tea water boiling on the stove only increase indoor humidity. The damp can give you a chill and send you for a sweater, but it also makes better growing conditions for mold, dust mites and pests that can ultimately contribute to allergy or asthma problems. Wooden furniture and musical instruments are vulnerable to swelling when exposed to excessive moisture.

The ideal target is between 30 and 60 percent humidity inside your home. You can find an estimate of your very own up-to-the-minute, weather-related indoor humidity on www.weather.com. For more accurate readings, look for a hygrometer at hardware and home improvement stores.

How to Reduce Indoor Humidity

• Fix any leaks related to plumbing or construction.
  
  
• Use the central heater or air conditioner, depending on the temperature. (Other temperature-control appliances may not push the necessary airflow to effectively reduce humidity.)
  
  
• Continuously run bathroom and over-stove kitchen fans.
  
  
• Plug in a dehumidifier. The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) helps you choose the best-capacity dehumidifier for your home size here.
  

A little further down the calendar, very cold winter weather can pull outdoor humidity percentages down into the single digits. People in desert-type areas, as well, may find themselves working in the very opposite direction, employing hot showers, teakettles and humidifiers to bring air moisture levels up for the comfort of their sinuses. Wood and many instruments are also sensitive to overly dry conditions.

Pollen Upon Us

Until late fall, ‘tis the season for ragweed and other weed pollens. If you suffer from hay fever, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences recommends protecting your indoor home environment by keeping windows shut from 5 till 10 a.m. Keep pets indoors as much as possible, or keep them outdoors, since their coats pick up pollen while they play, and give them frequent baths. The stuff sticks to people and clothing, too, so if you have sensitivity in this area, consider changing clothes and showering immediately when you return home from the great outdoors. The National Allergy Bureau provides pollen counts in local areas.

Outdoor molds are sending out spores this time of year as well. Look up daily forecasts for ozone and particle pollution in your area on Air Now (http://airnow.gov/).