We spend a lot of time inside. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approximated being within a building makes up 90% of our schedule. Although, the EPA also says your indoor air can be three to five times worse than outside your home.

That’s because our houses are tightly sealed to boost energy efficiency. While this is great for your heating and cooling bills, it’s not so great if you’re a part of the 40% of the population with respiratory allergies.

When outdoors ventilation is restricted, pollutants like dust and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) could get stuck. Consequently, these pollutants can irritate your allergies.

You can boost your indoor air quality with crisp air and routine housework and vacuuming. But if you’re still having issues with symptoms when you’re at your residence, an air purifier may be able to provide assistance.

While it can’t eliminate pollutants that have settled on your furnishings or carpet, it may help clean the air traveling around your home.

And air purification has also been scientifically verified to help reduce some allergic symptoms, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. It might also be helpful if you or a loved one has lung trouble, such as emphysema or COPD.

There are two options, a portable air purifier or a whole-home air purifier. We’ll discuss the advantages so you can figure out what’s right for your house.

Whole-House Air Purifier vs. Portable Air Purifiers

A portable air purifier is for a lone room. A whole-house air purifier works alongside your home comfort equipment to purify your complete house. Some types can clean on their own when your home comfort equipment isn’t on.

What’s the Best Air Purifier for Allergies?

Go after an option with a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter. HEPA filters are placed in hospitals and deliver the greatest filtration you can get, as they eliminate 99.97% of particles in the air.

HEPA filters are even more powerful 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, evaluate a system that also has a carbon-based filter to reduce household vapors.

Avoid using an air purifier that creates ozone, which is the main ingredient in smog. The EPA advises ozone might worsen respiratory problems, even when discharged at low concentrations.

The Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America has made a listing of questions to ask when purchasing 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 faster.)
  • How often does the filter or UV bulb need to be changed]? Can I complete that by myself?
  • How much do replacement filters or bulbs cost?

How to Reduce Seasonal Allergy Symptoms

Want to get the {top|most excellent|best] performance from your new air purification equipment? The Mayo Clinic recommends taking other steps to limit your exposure to things that can trigger seasonal allergies.

  1. Stay indoors and keep windows and doors closed when pollen counts are heightened.
  2. Have other family members trim the lawn or pull weeds, since these jobs can worsen symptoms. If you are required to do this work yourself, you might want to consider using a pollen mask. You should also shower right away and put on clean clothes once you’re done.
  3. Avoid hanging laundry outside your home.
  4. Run the AC while at home or while you’re on the road. Consider adding a high efficiency air filter in your home’s home comfort system.
  5. Even out your house’s humidity saturation with a whole-house dehumidifier.
  6. Hardwood, tile or linoleum are the best flooring materials for lowering indoor allergens. If your house has carpet, use a HEPA filter on your vacuum cleaner.

Let Our Professionals Manage Your Indoor Air Quality Necessities

Ready to move forward with installing a whole-house air purifier? Give our experts a call at 479-308-8176 or contact us online to request an appointment. We’ll help you locate the best equipment for your home and budget.