We spend lots of time indoors. In reality, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approximated being inside makes up 90% of our days. However, the EPA also has determined your indoor air can be three to five times more polluted than outdoors.
That’s since our residences are tightly sealed to boost energy efficiency. While this is good for your heating and cooling expenses, it’s not so great if you’re a part of the 40% of the population with respiratory allergies.
When outside ventilation is insufficient, pollutants including dust and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) might get trapped. As a consequence, these pollutants can worsen your allergies.
You can improve your indoor air quality with fresh air and usual housework and vacuuming. But if you’re still having issues with symptoms while you’re at your residence, an air purifier might be able to provide relief.
While it can’t get rid of pollutants that have landed on your furniture or carpet, it can help clean the air moving throughout your house.
And air purification has also been scientifically proven to help reduce 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 issues, including emphysema or COPD.
There are two kinds, a portable air purifier or a whole-home air purifier. We’ll go over the differences so you can determine what’s correct for your residence.
Whole-House Air Purifier vs. Portable Air Purifiers
A portable air purifier is for one room. A whole-house air purifier works alongside your HVAC system to purify your full home. Some models can purify by themselves when your heating and cooling equipment isn’t running.
What’s the Best Air Purifier for Allergies?
Look for a model with a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter. HEPA filters are placed in hospitals and provide the greatest filtration you can find, as they eliminate 99.97% of particles in the air.
HEPA filters are even more beneficial when installed with an ultraviolet (UV) germicidal light. This mighty mixture can destroy dust, dander, pollen and mold, all of which are standard allergens. For the ultimate in air purification, think over a system that also has a carbon-based filter to eliminate household smells.
Avoid buying an air purifier that generates ozone, which is the primary component in smog. The EPA warns ozone could aggravate respiratory problems, 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 remove from the air? What doesn’t it remove?
- What’s its clean air delivery rate? (A higher figure means air will be cleaned more quickly.)
- How frequently does the filter or UV bulb need to be changed]? Can I do that on my own?
- How much do replacement filters or bulbs cost?
How to Decrease Seasonal Allergy Symptoms
Want to have the {top|most excellent|best] performance from your new air purification system? The Mayo Clinic recommends taking other procedures to limit your exposure to seasonal allergy triggers.
- Stay in your home and keep windows and doors closed when pollen counts are high.
- Have other family members mow the lawn or pull weeds, since this work can irritate symptoms. If you must do these jobs alone, you might want to consider trying a pollen mask. You should also shower immediately and put on clean clothes once you’re done.
- Avoid drying laundry outside.
- Use your air conditioner while at your house or while driving. Consider installing a high efficiency air filter in your residence’s heating and cooling unit.
- Balance your home’s humidity saturation with a whole-house dehumidifier.
- Hardwood, tile or linoleum are the best flooring kinds for reducing indoor allergens. If your home has carpet, use a HEPA filter on your vacuum cleaner.
Let Our Professionals Handle Your Indoor Air Quality Necessities
Prepared to move forward with adding a whole-house air purifier? Give our experts a call at 302-231-1380 or contact us online to request an appointment. We’ll help you locate the ideal unit for your house and budget.
