While some people might look forward to the warm temperatures and lush greenery of spring, others tend to dread the end of winter. If you or any loved ones suffer from seasonal allergies, it can be tough to deal with all the pollen that comes with the season. Fortunately, there are some things that you can do to prevent itchy eyes and runny noses from ruining your day. The right indoor air quality features can make a big difference. Keep reading to learn how you can banish seasonal allergens inside your home.
What Is the Connection Between Indoor Air Quality and Allergies?
Most people assume seasonal allergies are just a problem that happens outdoors. However, they can also affect you when you’re inside. These types of allergies are triggered by your body overreacting to certain foreign substances. Whether they’re indoors or outdoors, items like grass seeds, ragweed, and tree pollen can all cause major respiratory problems for allergy-sensitive individuals.
Sadly, allergens can find their way inside the home both because they’re tracked in on clothes or shoes and because they can come in through minute gaps around windows and doors. Studies have found that a typical home with closed doors can have a pollen count that’s roughly a third of the amount of pollen outside. This is more than enough pollen to trigger allergic reactions for people with severe allergies.
This is where indoor air quality treatments can help. Indoor air quality refers to the amount of pollutants in the air inside your home. The right types of air quality control can help remove allergens from the air. By getting rid of allergens as soon as they enter your home, indoor air quality treatments can provide you with fresher, cleaner air.
Ways You Can Use Better Indoor Air Quality to Manage Allergies
Indoor air quality involves a broad range of tools and practices. Typically, homeowners can achieve the best results by personalizing their indoor air quality treatments to address their unique types of allergies. Here are some of the most common options for banishing allergies by improving indoor air quality in your home.
Improving Air Filtration With Better Filters
Adjusting your filtration system is one of the most popular methods for managing allergies. Many allergens are minute, airborne particles that float throughout your home and irritate your nose and throat. However, air filters can help trap these particles before they cause problems. As your HVAC system cycles air through your home, it can pull air through filters that catch pollen before it can trigger your allergies. If you have allergies, you’ll need to seek out air filters capable of catching extremely tiny particles. At a minimum, this means using standard HVAC filters with the highest MERV rating your system can handle. However, it might be worth seeking out a filter that can catch even smaller particles. HEPA filters are known for being particularly effective. Just keep in mind that they won’t work with all standard AC units.
Adjusting Ventilation Options
Typically, homes are built to have some ventilation that allows fresh outdoor air inside. This can be beneficial if you’re worried about musty smells and built-up cooking odors. However, when all your allergen triggers are outside, the last thing you want is a ventilation system that sucks in a bunch of pollen-laden air. If you have seasonal allergies, you may want to consult your HVAC company about a specialized ventilation system that manages outdoor airflow more carefully. You can still get some air from outside to freshen your home, but you might prefer a design with extra filtration or the opportunity to prevent outdoor contamination during pollen seasons.
Protecting Yourself With Whole-Home Air Purifiers
A whole-home air purifier is the gold standard for indoor air quality. This is a dedicated unit whose entire job is to pull pollutants out of your air. Usually, this type of purifier connects to your HVAC system, but some standalone models are available too. Whichever type you select, they can be one of the best ways to catch pollen and remove it from your air. Unlike standard filters, a whole-home purifier doesn’t usually need a high-powered AC motor. Instead, it comes with its own air-moving system that helps properly cycle air throughout your home.
Sanitizing Air With UV Lighting
Ultraviolet (UV) light sanitization is a somewhat new ventilation technique that can provide a lot of relief for allergy sufferers. It consists of strong UV rays that shine on the air as it flows through your system. These light rays help kill small organisms that float through the air. Though this form of air quality control won’t address pollen, it does help reduce the number of mold spores and microscopic organisms you might inhale. UV lights are especially good at managing all the microbes that often linger inside your ductwork or other HVAC components. This can be helpful for allergy sufferers who have a broad range of allergy triggers. By cutting back on mold and other organisms in the home, you can ensure that your respiratory system gets a break from other irritants.
Is Improved Air Quality Worth the Effort?
Although all the different steps for improving indoor air quality might seem overwhelming, most people with seasonal allergies say it’s worth it. Seasonal allergies are more than just a minor inconvenience. Constantly feeling ill greatly impacts one’s well-being. It’s hard to focus and enjoy life when one frequently sneezes, blows their nose, and wipes their eyes. In fact, seasonal allergies can damage a person’s productivity so much that workplaces lose around $1,000 per person per year due to allergies.
In addition to making you unhappy and unproductive, seasonal allergies can also have long-lasting impacts on your health. Many people need regular doctor’s visits and medications to keep their allergies at manageable levels. The typical person with seasonal allergies pays around $266 a year in healthcare. Furthermore, the respiratory issues caused by seasonal allergies can worsen other chronic conditions like asthma.
With so much at stake, it’s easy to see why improving your air quality is worth it. Simple improvements like better air filters can cost less than $50 extra per year, and larger improvements like whole-home dehumidifiers still average out to just $100 or so per year. By investing a little money in your indoor air quality upfront, you can enjoy a healthier, happier, and more comfortable life for years to come.
If you want to take steps to banish your seasonal allergies from your home, turn to Cozy Home Services. We’re passionate about giving Vacaville residents the cleanest, purest indoor air possible. Our team can help you with a variety of options, including dehumidification, UV sterilization, and HEPA filtration. In addition to providing air quality services, we also offer a variety of other cooling, heating, and plumbing services. Call or message us today to schedule an appointment with Cozy Home Services.
