It’s springtime, embraced by many with open arms, but spring and summer can be a drag for ones with allergies. Hence, instead of basking in the sun and walking among the seasonal flower beds, they seek shelter in air-conditioned residences. Pollen, mold spores, mildew, dust, and pet dander can trigger allergies. However, an HVAC unit can provide relief by filtering them out from the air. Therefore, let’s keep our loved ones safe and free from the grasp of allergies by learning and improving how an HVAC unit reduces allergens.
Intruder Alert!
Why does something seemingly harmless such as pollen, cause such a wild allergic reaction? It’s all because of a misunderstanding, where your immune system mistakes it for something dangerous. Then your immune system goes gun-blazing after it; too much effort to eliminate a pesky pollen grain. Thus, the over-excitement of the immune system and its exaggerated response to something relatively harmless causes allergies.
Setting Up Your HVAC Unit To Protect Against Allergies:
Taking Good Care Of Filters: Filters are the first line of defense against allergens, as they capture and separate pollen, pet dander, and dirt from the circulating air. However, filters will reach their capacity, eventually ending up clogged. As you may have guessed, clogged filters cannot filter out the allergens from the air. Therefore, we will be back on square one if we don’t do something about clogged filters.
Depending on the type installed in the HVAC unit, you can either replace the filters or clean them. Regardless of how you choose to treat the clogged filters, it’s a good rule of thumb to check the filters’ condition after every month. You may need to increase the frequency, especially during the high time like spring and summer, when the allergens like pollen run rampant.
Don’t Forget The Air Ducts: When the filters slack in their duty, debris may sneak past them and settle in the air ducts. Here the accumulating pile of pollen, pet dander, dirt, and other debris will obstruct the airflow. This will put your HVAC unit in overdrive, and you will notice your HVAC struggling to maintain the desired temperature. In such situations changing the filter may not help because the pile of debris still crowds the air duct, and it will clog the filter again soon. Again we are back to square one, with only one way out of the vicious loop: Get the air ducts cleaned by professionals such as those at Crump A/C and Heating.
Humidity Plays Its Part: Mold and mold spores can also trigger allergic reactions, and humidity plays a pivotal role in their growth. During summers in some regions, humidity can rise, and spores and allergies can worsen. Although HVAC can help reduce humidity, it’s good to invest in dehumidifiers to keep humidity in control.
Need help with your HVAC unit? Or want to prepare it for spring and summer? Crump A/C and Heating can help you out. You can call us at 281-533-9200 to learn more about how we can help.