Controlling Fall Allergies by Improving Your Home’s Air Quality

The abundance of weeds in the Wilmington area means our fall air is often full of allergy-aggravating pollen. To maintain high indoor air quality, you need a strategy to keep those allergens out of your home.

Defend Your Home from Allergens

One of the most effective ways to protect your home’s air quality is to prevent allergens from even entering. Keep your windows closed on high pollen-count days and run your air conditioner on “fan only” mode for air circulation. Running your air conditioner draws your home’s air through the A/C’s air filter, which captures allergens.

Gaps and cracks in your house let in lung irritants such as dust, pollen, and mold spores. Sealing these leaks keeps contaminants out while also improving your home’s energy efficiency and humidity control. Use caulk to seal gaps around window and door frames and apply weatherstripping around movable joints such as the insides of casement window jambs.

Get the Most From Your HVAC System

Choose an air filter with a MERV of 11 or 12, which will trap most of the contaminant particles small enough to enter your airways and trigger your allergies. Change the filter on schedule, usually every one to three months depending on the filter type and your indoor air quality.

Schedule regular maintenance for your furnace and air conditioner. Without professional maintenance, components and ducts become dirty and can re-circulate contaminants into your home’s air. A well-maintained system is also more energy efficient, safer, and less prone to breakdowns.

Using a portable air cleaner in your bedroom can help you sleep better during peak pollen times, but for clean air throughout your home, consider having a whole-house air cleaner installed. This type of air cleaner sits inside your HVAC system and cleans the air passing through.

At Sobieski Services, Inc., our goal is to help our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey learn more about energy and home comfort issues – especially HVAC and plumbing issues – so that they can save money and live in healthier, more comfortable homes.

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