We spend lots of time indoors. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated being indoors comprises 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 since our houses are tightly sealed to boost energy efficiency. While this is fantastic for your heating and cooling expenses, it’s not so great if you’re among the 40% of the population with respiratory allergies.
When outside ventilation is insufficient, pollutants including dust and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) may get trapped. Consequently, these pollutants can aggravate your allergies.
You can enhance your indoor air quality with clean air and usual housework and vacuuming. But if you’re still struggling with symptoms during the time you’re at your residence, an air purifier may be able to provide relief.
While it can’t remove pollutants that have settled on your couch or flooring, it can help clean the air traveling around your house.
And air purification has also been scientifically proven to help lower some allergic symptoms, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. It could also be useful if you or someone in your household has lung issues, including emphysema or COPD.
There are two models, a portable air purifier or a whole-home air purifier. We’ll discuss the differences 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 works with your heating and cooling unit to purify your full house. Some models can work by themselves when your heating and cooling unit isn’t running.
What’s the Best Air Purifier for Allergies?
Go after an option with a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter. HEPA filters are placed in hospitals and provide the greatest filtration you can buy, as they catch 99.97% of particles in the air.
HEPA filters are even more useful when used with an ultraviolet (UV) germicidal light. This mighty combination can destroy dust, dander, pollen and mold, all of which are common allergens. For the best in air purification, consider a unit that also has a carbon-based filter to eliminate household odors.
Avoid getting an air purifier that generates ozone, which is the main component in smog. The EPA warns ozone could irritate respiratory problems, even when released at low concentrations.
The Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America has created a checklist of questions to think over when purchasing an air purifier.
- What can this purifier remove from the air? What doesn’t it extract?
- What’s its clean air delivery rate? (A better number means air will be freshened more quickly.)
- How often does the filter or UV bulb need to be changed]? Can I complete that on my own?
- How much do new filters or bulbs cost?
How to Decrease Seasonal Allergy Symptoms
Want to receive the {top|most excellent|best] outcome from your new air purification system? The Mayo Clinic suggests doing other steps to reduce your exposure to things that can trigger seasonal allergies.
- Stay indoors and keep windows and doors shut when pollen counts are elevated.
- Have someone else mow the lawn or pull weeds, since these jobs can trigger symptoms. If you must do these chores alone, you might want to consider wearing a pollen mask. You should also bathe without delay and put on new clothes once you’re done.
- Avoid stringing up laundry outside.
- Run your air conditioner while at your house or while in the car. Consider adding a high efficiency air filter in your house’s HVAC equipment.
- Even out your residence’s humidity saturation with a whole-house dehumidifier.
- Hardwood, tile or linoleum are the suggested flooring kinds for decreasing indoor allergens. If your home has carpet, add a HEPA filter on your vacuum cleaner.
Let Our Pros Take Care of Your Indoor Air Quality Requirements
Want to take the next step with installing a whole-house air purifier? Give our professionals a call at 505-226-3525 or contact us online to schedule an appointment. We’ll help you find the ideal system for your family and budget.