Need Allergy Solutions for Your Home? Make it F.R.E.S.H.
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. That’s because pollen, dust, dander and other typical allergens can get into your home, and circulate through the HVAC system. Fortunately, there are measures you can take to clear the air in your home – and enjoy better comfort.
There are five steps to creating the F.R.E.S.H. environment you need:
- Filter the air
- Renovate leaky undersized duct work
- Eliminate indoor pollution
- Sanitize
- Humidity control
Filter the Air – the First Step Toward Better Indoor Air Quality
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 that’s 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. This doesn’t mean opening a window and letting in all the pollen; rather, it’s about a controlled volume of air being 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 Can Be 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%. For instance, 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
Poor indoor air quality can be a thing of the past with modern indoor air quality products and innovations. If you are interested in creating a F.R.E.S.H. system for your space give us a call at 404-294-0900. Consultation is free and you may just be surprise at how affordable many solutions can be.