Pollen and mold signal the start of allergy season usually starting the middle of March. Temperatures are still on the chilly side, so we should expect the allergy season to start soon.
Normal symptoms of allergies include congestion, itchy eyes, runny nose, watery eyes, sore throat, sneezing, and headaches. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology has a daily map of pollen and spore levels on their website so you can track the levels of allergens in your city.
Although controlling weather is outside of our current capabilities, controlling the air quality inside your home is something we do have control over. Frequently, the air inside a home is even more polluted than the air outside. This is due to the fact that homes that are “tight” and energy efficient and don’t allow allergens, vapors and contaminants to escape.
Read on to discover what you can do to improve the air quality inside your home.
If you don’t suffer from allergies, then a typical furnace filter might be fine for you. One inch filters can typically trap 5-15% of airborne pollutants. They are also more effective if you change your filters every month. If there is any construction in your home, you should change these weekly or bi-weekly.
Air cleaners and filters are the appropriate solution for bad indoor air quality. Did you know that the lack of air movement inside homes leads to an accumulation of toxic pollutants which can be 100 times greater than outside?
To fix the problem completely you need a combination of humidity control, ventilation and whole-house air cleaning.
Each time a whole-house air cleaner runs, it removes humidity, introduces fresh air into your home, and filters the air inside the house. Every bit of air contamination in every room is effectively eliminated leading to better air quality throughout the house.
Another major advantage of a whole home system is that they are easy to maintain and require service once a year, versus filters which need cleaning monthly or bi-monthly.
Polluted air causes more than 90% of all respiratory issues. There are a number of factors that affect indoor air quality and there are quite a few varieties of strategies that work to varying degrees. If you want to learn how to select the best air cleaning strategy for your home, schedule a Celestial Air tune up for your system. We’ll not only complete the maintenance, but we can recommend different options to help you improve indoor air quality.