We spend a good majority of our time indoors. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approximated being within a building comprises 90% of our days. However, the EPA also says your indoor air can be three to five times more polluted than outside your home.
That’s due to the fact our residences are securely sealed to increase energy efficiency. While this is fantastic for your energy bills, it’s not so great if you’re among the 40% of the population with respiratory allergies.
When outside ventilation is restricted, pollutants including dust and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) could get captured. As a consequence, these pollutants can irritate your allergies.
You can enhance your indoor air quality with crisp air and routine dusting and vacuuming. But if you’re still struggling with symptoms while you’re at your residence, an air purifier may be able to help.
While it can’t get rid of pollutants that have gotten trapped in your couch or flooring, it could help clean the air circulating around your house.
And air purification has also been scientifically verified to help lessen some allergic symptoms, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. It might also be useful if you or someone in your household has a lung condition, like emphysema or COPD.
There are two models, a portable air purifier or a whole-home air purifier. We’ll discuss the advantages so you can determine what’s right for your residence.
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 equipment to purify your entire home. Some kinds can purify independent when your heating and cooling equipment isn’t operating.
What’s the Best Air Purifier for Allergies?
Seek an option with a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter. HEPA filters are placed in hospitals and offer the best filtration you can find, as they eliminate 99.97% of particles in the air.
HEPA filters are even more beneficial when used with an ultraviolet (UV) germicidal light. This powerful blend can destroy dust, dander, pollen and mold, all of which are common allergens. For the ultimate in air purification, consider a system that also has a carbon-based filter to reduce household odors.
Avoid getting an air purifier that generates ozone, which is the primary ingredient in smog. The EPA cautions ozone may aggravate respiratory troubles, even when released at low concentrations.
The Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America has compiled a list of questions to consider when buying an air purifier.
- What can this purifier remove from the air? What doesn’t it take out?
- What’s its clean air delivery rate? (A higher amount means air will be purified more quickly.)
- How frequently does the filter or UV bulb need to be changed]? Can I do that on my own?
- How much do spare filters or bulbs cost?
How to Reduce Seasonal Allergy Symptoms
Want to have the {top|most excellent|best] results from your new air purification system? The Mayo Clinic recommends doing other measures to reduce your exposure to problems that can cause seasonal allergies.
- Stay in your home and keep windows and doors closed when pollen counts are elevated.
- Have other family members cut the lawn or pull weeds, since these jobs can irritate symptoms. If you are required to do this work alone, you may want to consider wearing a pollen mask. You should also shower immediately and change your clothes once you’re done.
- Avoid drying laundry outside your home.
- Turn on air conditioning while at home or while in the car. Consider using a high efficiency air filter in your home’s home comfort unit.
- Equalize your home’s humidity saturation with a whole-house dehumidifier.
- Hardwood, tile or linoleum are the ideal flooring types for lowering indoor allergens. If your house has carpet, use a HEPA filter on your vacuum cleaner.
Let Our Professionals Handle Your Indoor Air Quality Needs
Prepared to move forward with adding a whole-house air purifier? Give our experts a call at 520-357-4912 or contact us online to get an appointment. We’ll help you locate the ideal unit for your home and budget.