We spend lots of time indoors. In reality, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approximated being inside makes up 90% of our days. Although, the EPA also has found your indoor air can be three to five times more polluted than outside your home.

That’s due to the fact our houses are firmly sealed to enhance energy efficiency. While this is great for your heating and cooling costs, it’s not so fantastic if you’re amid the 40% of the population with respiratory allergies.

When outside ventilation is limited, pollutants including dust and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) may get trapped. As a result, these pollutants can aggravate your allergies.

You can improve your indoor air quality with crisp air and routine cleaning and vacuuming. But if you’re still struggling with symptoms during the time you’re at your house, an air purifier may be able to provide assistance.

While it can’t eliminate pollutants that have settled on your furniture or carpeting, it could help freshen the air circulating around your home.

And air purification has also been scientifically proven to help lower some allergic symptoms, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. It can also be useful if you or a family member has lung trouble, such as emphysema or COPD.

There are two models, a portable air purifier or a whole-home air purifier. We’ll go over the advantages so you can determine what’s correct for your house.

Whole-House Air Purifier vs. Portable Air Purifiers

A portable air purifier is for one room. A whole-house air purifier works alongside your heating and cooling unit to treat your entire home. Some models can purify by themselves when your HVAC equipment isn’t on.

What’s the Best Air Purifier for Allergies?

Seek an option with a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter. HEPA filters are used in hospitals and provide the best filtration you can find, as they catch 99.97% of particles in the air.

HEPA filters are even more useful when combined with an ultraviolet (UV) germicidal light. This powerful combination can eliminate dust, dander, pollen and mold, all of which are general allergens. For the best in air purification, consider a system that also has a carbon-based filter to reduce household smells.

Avoid getting an air purifier that creates ozone, which is the primary component in smog. The EPA cautions ozone may irritate respiratory troubles, even when released at small concentrations.

The Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America has created a listing of questions to ask when buying an air purifier.

  • What can this purifier remove from the air? What doesn’t it extract?
  • What’s its clean air delivery rate? (A bigger figure means air will be purified more quickly.)
  • How frequently does the filter or UV bulb need to be changed]? Can I complete that by myself?
  • How much do new filters or bulbs cost?

How to Decrease Seasonal Allergy Symptoms

Want to get the {top|most excellent|best] outcome from your new air purification unit? The Mayo Clinic recommends taking other measures to reduce your exposure to seasonal allergy triggers.

  1. Stay indoors and keep windows and doors shut when pollen counts are heightened.
  2. Have other family members cut the lawn or pull weeds, since these tasks can irritate symptoms. If you are required to do this work yourself, consider using a pollen mask. You should also shower right away and put on clean clothes once you’re done.
  3. Avoid stringing up laundry outside your home.
  4. Turn on the AC while at home or while driving. Consider adding a high efficiency air filter in your home’s HVAC system.
  5. Balance your house’s humidity levels with a whole-house dehumidifier.
  6. Hardwood, tile or linoleum are the ideal flooring kinds for decreasing indoor allergens. If your home has carpet, add a HEPA filter on your vacuum cleaner.

Let Our Specialists Take Care of Your Indoor Air Quality Requirements

Prepared to take the next step with adding a whole-house air purifier? Give our experts a call at 775-230-7628 or contact us online to get an appointment. We’ll help you locate the ideal unit for your house and budget.