Need Allergy Solutions for Your Home? Make it F.R.E.S.H.

Allergy Season – Empire Heating & Air Conditioning’s Recommendations

It’s that time of the year when the ragweed is blooming for the fall season and pollen counts are up.

If you are one of the millions who suffer from seasonal allergies your home should be a sanctuary of comfort and relief. Surprisingly, many homes actually make symptoms worse. There are five steps to creating the F.R.E.S.H. environment you need:

  1. Filter the air.
  2. Renovate leaky undersized duct work
  3. Eliminate indoor pollution
  4. Sanitize
  5. Humidity control

Indoor Air Quality Solutions – Filters

Filters, although familiar to nearly everyone, are not all created equal. Getting the right size and type of filter can make a big difference to your comfort, but just because the label says HEPA or high efficiency doesn’t mean that it actually is. And, even if you invest in a really good filter, if it’s too small it can actually reduce the efficiency of your system.

Renovating Leaky Ductwork

Renovating leaky and undersized duct work can make a huge difference in your indoor air quality, especially if your ducts are in the attic or crawl space. Duct work in poor condition can force your system to pull in nasty air from dank, dusty spaces through every crack and crevice each time the system comes on.

Eliminate Indoor Pollution – Bring in Fresh Air

Eliminate indoor pollution by bringing in fresh air. Indoor air is often much worse than the air outside and the old saying of “the solution to pollution is dilution” is still true. I’m not talking about opening a window and letting in all the pollen. I’m talking about a controlled volume of air brought into the HVAC system, filtered, conditioned and then evenly distributed in order to create a positive pressure inside that pushes that nastiness out.

Sanitize – UV Lights very Effective

Sanitize with ultra violet air treatment systems to kill germs and neutralize mold spores. There have been great advances in this technology over the last few years and now newer system cost less while equipment life cycles have tripled.

Humidity Control

Humidity control is important to keep you in the sweet spot between 40 and 60%. Fall humidity is typically fine until the heat comes on and then levels can drop to 20% or less inside. When humidity drops below 40% sinus tissues can dry out making them more sensitive to allergens. There are lots of solutions available from room units that need to be refilled daily to central humidifiers that are fully automatic.

Empire’s Recommendations for Allergies & Indoor Air Quality

We will offer more information on each of these topics over the next few weeks. In the meantime, enjoy the fall colors and lower temperatures. If you are interested in creating a F.R.E.S.H. system for your space give us a call. Consultation is free and you may just be surprise at how affordable many solutions can be.

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