There are several things in older houses that can trigger allergies in people susceptible to them: mold, dust, dust mites are the three biggest ones that come to mind.

The fact that your house is on piers may cause rising soil moisture problems. This would be cured with underhouse vapor blocking.

Dust, of course, is cured by intensive cleaning (perhaps not by you) using high quality vacuums (true HEPA) and good airing. It might also necessitate washing all the interior surfaces. And it almost certainly would require removal of any wall to wall carpeting, down to a water washable solid floor. (Even wood floors can be very carefully water washed.) A thorough steam cleaning may also help.

Dust mites (or more grossly, their feces) are another common cause of allergies. Again, a very thorough vacuuming with remove these. But in many old houses there are siginificant between-board cracks in old wide-board floors. (I could lose straws or a Bic pen in some of mine.) These have sometimes been packed deliberately, or just accumulated a filling of assorted old house floor snarf (dirt, dust, hair, mold spores and other stuff that doesn't bear too much thought). If this is the case you'll need to remove it completely before washing the floor as washing will only make it tougher to dig out as the wood swells around it before it dries. If you do have wide cracks filled with something, it's best to check out what it is. Some cracks have been filled deliberately with oakum, fibers, wood filler. In these cases it wouldn't have to be removed.

Dehumidifiers will help dry the house out. Air filters are of questionable use unless truly HEPA-grade. Mostly they seem to just move allergens around.

Another thing to check out, in case you have one is the ducting for your HVAC system. These need to be cleaned regularly, filters changed, etc. Doing this right away, and then again at fairly short notice (say before the haeting season begins) can help sort out a "new" old house with stinky problems.

The other thing to think about is defering moving your things in until you've cleaned out the house more in order to avoid contaminating your things with whatever is in the new house. Clean first, then move, if you possibly can swing it, or at least keep most of your stuff in storage until you've got it under control.

Finally, perhaps you are getting allergies from a change in the plant pollen in the new area and will acclimate. It could be something else nearby, other than the house itself.

HTH,

Molly~

Thank you so much for all of your help. I do think that there may be some moisture under the house. Can you explain what underhouse vapor blocking is. Thanks. Angie

Well, basically in most areas moisture from the soil is always rising to the surface in the form of vapor. This isn't the same thing as free water arising from the soil due to poor drainage, underground springs, etc., from poorly-drained (whether seasonally or permanently) soil.

Rising water vapor is not really a defect of drainage, but it can cause problems in houses where the rising vapor becomes trapped underneath the house contributing to structural damage and a dampness up into the house sometimes causing mold problems.

The cure for soil vapor is primarily to block it at the soil level to prevent it from becoming trapped under the house. In some situations it is impossible to do that, then the cure is to vent it with fans (though this can cause other problems related to moisture vapor in the outside air). A third option, and may be what you have to do if you have a house on a piers, is to block it directly under the floor supports. Though, this again, is less than perfect because you are also preventing moisture that is already in the house from exiting through the floor. Fortunately not much moisture vapor flows downward, but it's still a risk.

Many people use simple construction poly as moisture vapor barriers, but there are better, longer-lasting specific products for this.

Can you try opening up the space under your house and assessing the condition of the soil? If it's very moist you would want to actively vent it with fans, ASAP. Then consider what you want to do about blocking further moisture. Often it's a combination of poor surface drainage and rising vapor. Each must be dealt with separately.

(As as aside, when I mentioned a "thorough steam cleaming" in my first post I did not mean a steam cleaning of a carpet - that I would simply remove if there was any questions of allergy issues- I meant a through steam cleaning of all the wall surfaces, ceiling, floors and woodwork. One advantage of using a steamer over simple waster washing is that it contributes less moisture, doesn't require rinsing, etc. In fact in really dirty situations I usually do both: a water washing first to remove as much gross contamination as possible, followed by a steam cleaning. If you're thinking of buying a steamer, I suggest you ask if there are any open box models avail. Sometimes these are returns in excellent condition at very good prices. Steamers, as a class of appliance, are often over-sold as miracle cleaners, in my opinion. The result is that vendors get returns when people realize that it is isn't quite what they expected. However, they do have their uses in a situation like you describe. Buying a returned unit with full-warranty is a less expensive way to acquire one for the occasional major cleaning uses -as opposed to the claims of using it every day to clean everything from your toothbrush to your toilet bowl. My steamer is a Ladybug model, which I am generally happy with. If I was to replace it, I might consider a more powerful unit.)

HTH, Molly