We spend lots of time inside. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined being within a building accounts for 90% of our schedule. However, the EPA also says your indoor air can be three to five times more polluted than outside your home.

That’s since our residences are securely sealed to increase energy efficiency. While this is good for your utility bills, it’s not so good if you’re amid the 40% of the population with respiratory allergies.

When outside ventilation is insufficient, pollutants including dust and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can get trapped. Consequently, these pollutants could worsen your allergies.

You can improve your indoor air quality with clean air and routine dusting and vacuuming. But if you’re still having problems with symptoms during the time you’re at your residence, an air purifier could be able to provide assistance.

While it can’t eliminate pollutants that have gotten trapped in your furnishings or carpet, it may help freshen the air circulating around your home.

And air purification has also been scientifically confirmed to help reduce some allergic symptoms, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. It can also be appropriate if you or someone in your household has lung trouble, including emphysema or COPD.

There are two kinds, a portable air purifier or a whole-home air purifier. We’ll examine the advantages so you can figure out what’s right for your residence.

Whole-House Air Purifier vs. Portable Air Purifiers

A portable air purifier is for one room. A whole-house air purifier accompanies your HVAC equipment to clean your full home. Some kinds can clean by themselves when your heating and cooling unit isn’t running.

What’s the Best Air Purifier for Allergies?

Look for a model with a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter. HEPA filters are installed in hospitals and offer the best filtration you can buy, as they eliminate 99.97% of particles in the air.

HEPA filters are even more useful when used with an ultraviolet (UV) germicidal light. This powerful mixture can wipe out dust, dander, pollen and mold, all of which are standard allergens. For the ultimate in air purification, think over a unit that also has a carbon-based filter to reduce household odors.

Avoid buying an air purifier that creates ozone, which is the main element in smog. The EPA warns ozone could aggravate respiratory problems, even when discharged at low settings.

The Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America has compiled a checklist of questions to think over when getting an air purifier.

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

How to Lessen Seasonal Allergy Symptoms

Want to get the {top|most excellent|best] performance from your new air purification equipment? The Mayo Clinic advises completing other procedures to decrease your exposure to seasonal allergy triggers.

  1. Stay in your home and keep windows and doors shut when pollen counts are elevated.
  2. Have other family members trim the lawn or pull weeds, since these jobs can trigger symptoms. If you are required to do this work on your own, you might want to consider wearing a pollen mask. You should also bathe without delay and put on clean clothes once you’re completed.
  3. Avoid stringing up laundry outdoors.
  4. Turn on your air conditioner while indoors or while you’re on the road. Consider using a high efficiency air filter in your residence’s heating and cooling unit.
  5. Equalize your home’s humidity saturation with a whole-house dehumidifier.
  6. Hardwood, tile or linoleum are the suggested flooring kinds for lowering indoor allergens. If your house has carpet, install a HEPA filter on your vacuum cleaner.

Let Our Pros Take Care of Your Indoor Air Quality Necessities

Prepared to move forward with getting a whole-house air purifier? Give our professionals a call at 515-344-3579 or contact us online to schedule an appointment. We’ll help you locate the ideal system for your residence and budget.