The Gordon's Service Experts Guide to Fall Allergy Season
Can you get allergies during the fall? You most certainly can! Allergens can appear at any moment. Although spring allergies might be more common, allergies in the fall are a substantial problem for lots of people. Here, Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning can help you learn more about and fight fall allergies. Sadly, the solution isn’t as simple as staying clear of the pollen-filled world around your home. Fall allergy season finds different ways into your home. By determining what leads to fall allergies, you can also identify the best ways to reduce them.
How to Recognize Fall Allergy Symptoms
Determining your fall allergy symptoms can be harder than it may seem. The symptoms of seasonal fall allergies are commonly discreet and mistaken for a mild cold. Coughing, sneezing and sinusitis tend to be symptoms that develop in both fall allergies and the common cold. A medical professional is always the most reliable source for confirming allergies. However, some common symptoms of fall allergies and sinusitis include:
- Itchy or watery eyes
- Sneezing
- Coughing
- Headache
- Fatigue or tiredness
What Causes Fall Allergies?
When looking into what triggers fall allergies in your exact case, there are plenty of likely culprits. Dust mites and allergens can collect in different places throughout your home. Most of these sources of seasonal fall allergies can be managed with professional air quality services like those supplied by Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning. That said, the most common sources of indoor fall allergies include:
- Airborne pollen
- Mold
- Dust mites
- Pets
- Wall-to-wall carpet
- Damp areas
- Indoor plants
- Stuffed toys
- Mattresses and other padded furniture
- Debris buildup within your air ducts
Work-Arounds for Seasonal Fall Allergies
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America reports that homeowners with fall allergies can improve their air quality in three ways. First, you should reduce your contact with airborne allergens within your home. This entails having a whole-house dehumidifier, ductwork cleaning and stopping your home from getting too warm. Second, you need to ventilate your space, ensuring that airborne contaminants don’t amass in stagnant air. Third, you should consider installing an air cleaner to eliminate allergens from the air. Learn more about each of these solutions below.
Control Your Home’s Humidity with a Whole-House Dehumidifier
When the air in your home deviates from the EPA’s ideal humidity levels (30%-40% humidity), it encourages ideal conditions for mold, dust mites and many other sources of allergic attacks. With a whole-house dehumidifier, you have precise control over the humidity levels throughout your entire home. These modern dehumidifiers enable you to adjust the humidity inside your home within 1% of the preferred levels, erasing the conditions for excess mold, dust mites, fungi, bacteria and other contaminants.
Keep Your Air Healthy With Ultraviolet Germicidal Lights
Ultraviolet germicidal lights purify the air in your home before it circulates through your home. As the air flows out of your HVAC unit and enters the air ducts, it passes through an intense ultraviolet light that kills contaminants before they can spread. This system addresses the question, “What is the best air purifier for allergies?” This system can quickly make your air considerably cleaner. UV lights have been known to eliminate half of the concentrated bioaerosols within their initial 45 minutes of use.
Get Rid of Contaminants with HEPA Air Filters
When you need a high-end air filter, you should find a HEPA air filter that can remove 99.97% of the contaminants in the air. Because of their unique design, these filters pull the most frequent triggers of fall allergies from their air, including ragweed, pollen and dust mites. HEPA air filters also capture contaminants like:
- Tobacco smoke
- Dirt particles
- Pollen
- Ragweed
- Dust mites
- Various odors and airborne chemicals
Routinely Clean Your HVAC System’s Ductwork
In the past, HVAC systems have not always done a great job of removing impurities from the air. This means that debris frequently spreads through ductwork for decades. Over time, some of that debris will accumulate inside your ventilation. This is why many people recommend Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning and our duct cleaning services before switching on the heat for the first time in the fall. Doing so can minimize one of the most substantial sources of airborne contaminants in your home.
The 10 Cities in the United States With the Most Difficult Fall Allergy Seasons
In many cases, your location has a big impact on the intensity of your fall allergy symptoms. Fall allergies are known to be worse in specific areas of the country versus others. For instance, ragweed (one of the most prevalent sources of allergy-inducing pollen) is mostly found in the country’s eastern region and in the Midwest. That said, allergies can become a considerable problem regardless of where you live. Here are the 10 most difficult cities for those managing seasonal allergies.
Getting Help From Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning
As you have now seen, the most comprehensive remedy for dust mites and fall allergies entails an all-out assault on the pollutants and allergens in the air throughout your home. Each home will need a specialized approach suited for that home’s individual makeup and layout. With air quality professionals throughout the United States, Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning can help in almost every corner of the country. If you’d like one of our indoor air quality pros to help make your air as allergen-free as possible, call or fill out a contact form when you’re ready to start.
