We spend a lot of time in our homes. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined being inside makes up 90% of our days. However, the EPA also has found your indoor air can be three to five times dirtier than outdoors.
That’s because our residences are tightly sealed to enhance energy efficiency. While this is good for your utility costs, it’s not so great if you’re among the 40% of the population with respiratory allergies.
When outdoor ventilation is insufficient, pollutants including dust and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can get trapped. As a result, these pollutants may worsen your allergies.
You can enhance your indoor air quality with fresh air and usual dusting and vacuuming. But if you’re still having issues with symptoms while you’re at home, an air purifier might be able to provide relief.
While it can’t eliminate pollutants that have landed on your furnishings or carpet, it could help freshen the air moving across your house.
And air purification has also been scientifically verified to help lower some allergic symptoms, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. It may also be appropriate if you or someone in your household has lung issues, like emphysema or COPD.
There are two kinds, a portable air purifier or a whole-home air purifier. We’ll discuss the differences so you can determine what’s appropriate 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 alongside your heating and cooling unit to clean your entire residence. Some kinds can work by themselves when your HVAC unit isn’t running.
What’s the Best Air Purifier for Allergies?
Go after a model with a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter. HEPA filters are installed 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 installed with an ultraviolet (UV) germicidal light. This dynamic mixture can wipe out dust, dander, pollen and mold, all of which are common allergens. For the greatest in air purification, evaluate a system that also has a carbon-based filter to decrease household odors.
Avoid getting an air purifier that creates ozone, which is the primary ingredient in smog. The EPA cautions ozone could worsen respiratory troubles, even when discharged at minor concentrations.
The Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America has made a list of questions to ask when getting an air purifier.
- What can this purifier remove from the air? What doesn’t it extract?
- What’s its clean air delivery rate? (A bigger figure means air will be purified faster.)
- How regularly does the filter or UV bulb need to be replaced]? Can I do that by myself?
- How much do spare 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 completing other steps to decrease your exposure to problems that can cause seasonal allergies.
- 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 trigger symptoms. If you are required to do these jobs alone, you might want to consider trying a pollen mask. You should also shower without delay and change your clothes once you’re done.
- Avoid drying laundry outside your home.
- Run air conditioning while indoors or while driving. Consider using a high efficiency air filter in your home’s HVAC system.
- Even out your home’s humidity percentage with a whole-house dehumidifier.
- Hardwood, tile or linoleum are the ideal flooring materials for decreasing indoor allergens. If your house has carpet, use a HEPA filter on your vacuum cleaner.
Let Our Pros Manage Your Indoor Air Quality Needs
Prepared to move forward with getting a whole-house air purifier? Give our specialists a call at 308-832-4321 or contact us online to get an appointment. We’ll help you find the best unit for your house and budget.