How to Effectively Fight Autumn Allergies and Illnesses

When autumn comes, you can’t help but appreciate the beauty this season brings to the surroundings. Shades of red, orange and yellow are simply mesmerizing. The falling leaves are just a lovely sight to witness. But fall is also known to be an allergy season. The sad part is that allergens do not hibernate with the change of seasons, which means they continue spreading in the air, causing or aggravating allergies.

Four Seasons Air Specialists is an HVAC company in Vadnais Heights MN that cares about your health. For this reason, we offer an array of indoor air quality products geared toward making your home healthier and safer no matter the season may be.

How Fall Affects Allergies and Asthma

During the fall, the days are shorter and the nights are longer. This results in the air becoming cooler and drier. While this brings a relief after those long, hot, humid summer days, it is also an element that can worsen asthma symptoms and allergic reactions. Dry air is a respiratory irritant that makes asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) more severe.

One of the main contributors to allergies during this season is the spread of ragweed, which is a flower that can cause allergic rhinitis (hay fever). This illness affects about 23 million people in the United States alone. Even if this flower doesn’t grow in your surroundings, it can travel for hundreds of miles in the air.

Dust mites are microscopic arthropods that feed primarily on flakes of human skin that are spread around the home. When you start using your heating system, dust mites are circulated throughout your home, which can cause or worsen allergies.

Another dangerous contaminant that thrives during this season is mold, which is a fungus that often grows in damp areas in your house, such as the garden, bathrooms, and basement. When exposed to damp and moldy environments, you may suffer nasal stuffiness, throat irritation, coughing and wheezing, eye irritation, and in certain cases, skin irritation.

How an Air Purifier Can Help

When certain areas in your home are not properly cleaned on a regular basis, they can get clogged up and become a breeding ground for household contaminants. An air purifier can provide you with the protection you won’t get from your heating or cooling system alone. When pollutants are absorbed by an air purifier, there will be a noticeable reduction of wheezing, coughing, and sneezing.

Air purifiers can catch odors, particulates, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and other biological pollutants as tiny as 0.03 microns and about 99.99 percent of all germs.

If you have someone in your home that suffers from COPD, you’ll benefit from an air purifier because it helps prevent the spread of colds. It can catch the harmful pollutants, which lowers the spread of colds and flu. In addition, air purifiers can also release negative ions, which are compounds that equal the freshness of the outdoors, making your home much cleaner and safer.

Other Ways to Purify Your Indoor Air

HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters are the best filters available on the market today. These filtration systems eliminate 99.97 percent of air pollutants, including gases released by paints, fabrics, adhesives and other VOCs.

A dehumidifier can also help maintain a healthy indoor air. In damp areas such as the basement and bathrooms, use a dehumidifier to set the humidity between 35 and 50 percent, which is the ideal moisture level in preventing the spread of mold and mildew.

Regularly clean your bathrooms and kitchen, and use non-chemical solutions such as vinegar and baking soda. This will help reduce the growth of microorganisms in such areas.

Vacuum carpets and upholstery regularly, and wash your clothes, linens, and curtains as often as you can. Also, regularly wash your beddings in hot water since dust mites thrive in bedrooms.

Professional Air Cleaning with Four Seasons Air Specialists

Here at Four Seasons Air Specialists, not only do we care about your home comfort; more importantly, we are concerned about your health. If you need help in fighting illnesses and allergies associated with the fall season, give us a call. We are your trusted Vadnais Heights heating and air conditioning contractor that promises to provide you with no less than exceptional HVAC products and services.