We spend a lot of time inside. As a matter of fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approximated being indoors makes up 90% of our days. Having said that, the EPA also has found your indoor air can be three to five times more polluted than outside your home.
That’s because our residences are tightly sealed to enhance energy efficiency. While this is fantastic for your utility expenses, it’s not so great if you’re amid the 40% of the population with respiratory allergies.
When outside ventilation is insufficient, pollutants such as dust and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can get stuck. As a result, these pollutants might aggravate your allergies.
You can enhance your indoor air quality with fresh air and routine dusting and vacuuming. But if you’re still struggling with symptoms when you’re at your residence, an air purifier might be able to provide relief.
While it can’t remove pollutants that have landed on your couch or carpeting, it might help clean the air traveling throughout your residence.
And air purification has also been scientifically confirmed to help lower some allergic symptoms, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. It can also be useful if you or someone in your household has lung trouble, like emphysema or COPD.
There are two options, a portable air purifier or a whole-home air purifier. We’ll discuss the advantages so you can learn what’s correct for your home.
Whole-House Air Purifier vs. Portable Air Purifiers
A portable air purifier is for one room. A whole-house air purifier accompanies your heating and cooling unit to clean your entire home. Some kinds can purify by themselves when your heating and cooling unit isn’t on.
What’s the Best Air Purifier for Allergies?
Look for an option with a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter. HEPA filters are placed in hospitals and deliver the greatest filtration you can buy, as they catch 99.97% of particles in the air.
HEPA filters are even more useful when combined with an ultraviolet (UV) germicidal light. This mighty combination can destroy dust, dander, pollen and mold, all of which are general allergens. For the best in air purification, think over equipment that also has a carbon-based filter to reduce household vapors.
Avoid buying an air purifier that generates ozone, which is the main component in smog. The EPA cautions ozone might aggravate respiratory issues, even when emitted at minor concentrations.
The Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America has made a checklist of questions to think over when buying an air purifier.
- What can this purifier extract from the air? What doesn’t it extract?
- What’s its clean air delivery rate? (A better figure means air will be cleaned faster.)
- How often does the filter or UV bulb need to be changed]? Can I complete that without help?
- How much do replacement filters or bulbs cost?
How to Decrease Seasonal Allergy Symptoms
Want to receive the {top|most excellent|best] outcome from your new air purification unit? The Mayo Clinic recommends doing other measures to decrease your exposure to seasonal allergy triggers.
- Stay in your home and keep windows and doors closed when pollen counts are heightened.
- Have someone else trim the lawn or pull weeds, since this work can aggravate symptoms. If you must do these chores alone, you might want to consider wearing a pollen mask. You should also rinse off without delay and put on new clothes once you’re done.
- Avoid hanging laundry outside.
- Run the AC while at your house or while driving. Consider installing a high efficiency air filter in your residence’s heating and cooling equipment.
- Even out your house’s humidity percentage with a whole-house dehumidifier.
- Hardwood, tile or linoleum are the best flooring kinds for decreasing indoor allergens. If your residence has carpet, install a HEPA filter on your vacuum cleaner.
Let Our Professionals Take Care of Your Indoor Air Quality Needs
Want to move forward with installing a whole-house air purifier? Give our specialists a call at 254-307-9572 or contact us online to schedule an appointment. We’ll help you find the ideal equipment for your house and budget.