Are Allergies Bothering You This Year?

Allergy season typically starts on March 17 with the onset of pollen and mold. This season started a few weeks late. In Minnesota, we experienced a  false spring, in which temperatures rose briefly and then dipped again. The swings caused pollen levels to rise, fall, and rise sequentially.

That pattern of pollen release sets people with allergies up for something called “the priming effect,” said Stanley M. Fineman, MD, an Atlanta-based allergist and past president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, in an interview with WCCO. “When patients are exposed, then the pollen goes away for a while, there’s a weather change or whatever, then they are re-exposed to that pollen, they can have an even more significant effect because their system is primed to respond,” Fineman says. “It results in patients having a lot more difficulty with significantly worse symptoms” that may be tougher to get under control, he says.

Among the typical symptoms or allergies are congestion, runny nose, itchy eyes, sneezing, watery eyes, sore throat, itchy throat, headaches, and itchy ears. USA Today recently cited a study from the US Department of Agriculture which stated that the pollen season has grown nationwide as much as 13 to 27 days longer since 1995.

Indoor Air Quality: Controlling Your Home’s Air

The air inside your home can be 100 times more polluted than the air outside. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “our homes are loaded with pollutants like pollen, lung-damaging dust, pet hair, dander, dust mites, mold spores, bacteria, and viruses.” It's no wonder they list indoor air quality as one of the top five environmental risks to public health today (EPA).

What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You

Unfortunately, some Twin Cities homeowners believe the standard furnace filter is doing the job and they couldn’t be more wrong. The typical one-inch filters people use on the furnace only trap about 5-15% of airborne particulates, leaving 85% to 95% of particulate matter to accumulate in their homes.

Additionally, with homes being built and remodeled more insulated and tighter than ever, many homes are nearly draft-free. In making homes more energy-efficient, we are also creating a number of issues. With less ventilation and improper filtration, allergens, harmful vapors, and contaminants get trapped and can accumulate to unhealthy levels. These may include:

• Airborne pollutants – dust, dust mites, pet hair, dander, pollen, and particulates from clothing and furniture.
• Biological contaminants – bacteria, viruses, mold spores, mildew.
• Odors and vapors – tobacco smoke, cooking grease

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there are three main approaches to improving indoor air quality: source control, improved ventilation, and air cleaning.

Source/Humidity Control:

Source control refers to removing the source of the pollutant from the home. Examples include not smoking indoors, and removing animals, plants, unused solvents, and paint thinners. Controlling humidity levels with whole-home dehumidification can also reduce the spread of mold and dust mites, which thrive in high-humidity environments.

Ventilation:

Ventilation is key in decreasing pollutants that are generated inside the home. According to the EPA, the lack of air movement through homes can lead to a buildup of toxic pollutants that can have concentrations up to a hundred times greater inside a home than outside. However, the indoor concentration of particles such as pollen may actually increase when ventilation rates are increased due to the introduction of fresh outdoor air, so air cleaning may be needed regardless of the level of ventilation.

Air Cleaning:

Air cleaners and filters are a vital part of the solution for poor indoor air quality. These cleaners remove the particulate matter that remains airborne after source control and ventilation have failed. The effectiveness of air cleaners in improving overall air quality is highly dependent on both the type of air cleaner selected and the nature and concentration of the pollutant.

Fixing The Problem

Create a strategy that includes whole-home humidity control, and ventilation to remove odors and potentially harmful vapors, and have a whole-home air cleaner installed to trap airborne contaminants. Unless you remove the problems from every room in your house, you will only be treating the symptoms. Whole-home systems represent the best option for those with allergies and asthma, ridding their home of dust, dust mites, pet dander, mold spores, pollen, bacteria and viruses, smoke, and more.

How Do They Work?

Installed as part of your home’s central heating and cooling system, Whole-Home Air Cleaners, Dehumidifiers, and Ventilation systems are out-of-sight and out of your way, according to Adams. So, each time your system runs, excess humidity is removed, proper amounts of fresh air are introduced, and the air in your home is filtered through state-of-the-art filter media, so potentially harmful contaminants are removed from every room.

The result is your heating and cooling system distributes cleaner, healthier air to your entire home. Better yet, the Whole-home systems are easy to maintain (generally once every one to two years, unlike portable units that require monthly care or standard filters that need cleaning every 1-3 months).

Why “Whole-Home”?

The American Lung Association tracks indoor air quality and its impact. Consider the following facts.

• Each person inhales over 3,500 gallons of air each day. Children inhale more particles for their size than adolescents or adults.
• Polluted air causes 94% of all respiratory problems.
• More than 31 million Americans have been diagnosed with asthma, and about 1/3 are children under 18.
• About 40,000 dust mites, a common household allergen, can live in one ounce of dust.
• An estimated 10-15% of the entire population may be allergic to cat or dog dander.
• A person sheds up to 700,000 skin flakes per day.

When you consider what can occur without controlling your home’s air purity, humidity, and fresh air, it’s hard to believe more people don’t take advantage of whole-home systems for health’s sake. There are a number of variables that affect your home's air quality. There are also a variety of techniques that have different levels of effectiveness. The best thing to do is to call us now. We can then recommend the right solution to improve the air you breathe. Call us now, or fill out the contact form.

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