How Indoor Air Quality Affects Your Allergies

August 03, 2017

While many people correlate allergy symptoms with pollen, pollution and other irritants in the air outside your home, your interior air quality can have a big impact on your symptoms. According to the EPA, “In the last several years, a increasing body of scientific evidence has specified that the air within homes and other buildings can be more seriously polluted than the outdoor air in even the greatest and most industrialized cities. Other research says that people spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors. So, for a lot of people, the threats to health may be greater due to more exposure to air pollution indoors than outdoors.”

Our Arlington homes are contaminated with outdoor allergens like pollen that make their way in out homes, and by irritants like pet dander, dust mites, mold spores, chemicals from ordinary household cleaners and more. So, what can you do about it? The solution is already in your home! It’s your HVAC system.

You should realize that your HVAC can be your supporter or your nemesis when it comes to handling your allergies. A dirty system can harbor and spread allergens around your home, so the answer is to keep your system operating well. Above all, you need to keep your air filters clean. Place a reminder or set it on your calendar to look at them monthly and exchange them out when you see that they’re getting dirty. They’ll usually need to be changed every two or three months, but this can vary significantly from home to household. You can find filters that span from the most straightforward level of filtering to hospital-grade HEPA filters. The experts at Service Max Heating & Air Conditioning can help you decide which form of filter will keep your home nourishing and keep your HVAC running correctly.

It’s also crucial to have your system routinely checked by a pro to keep your inside air quality where it should be. In addition to inspecting that essential filter, your service technician will clean the central workings of your system and make sure that everything is running as it should. You can also ask your technician if a duct cleaning would be beneficial.

When it comes to your indoor air quality, you can rely on the professionals at Service Max Heating & Air Conditioning to take good care of you. Besides helping you keep your HVAC system operating, we can help you make sure you have the tools you need to combat poor indoor air quality and allergens—like humidifiers and whole home air purifiers. Just give us a call at 360-255-5857 to ensure your home’s air is healthy and pure.