4 Effective Tips for Preventing Allergies in Your Home
People usually suffer from allergies—such as sneezing and difficulty breathing—during the spring season when pollen permeates the air. However, it’s not uncommon for people to suffer from allergies in the home thanks to poor indoor air quality.
People that develop flu-like systems due to turning on the air conditioner or furnace are generally allergic to dust, mold, or mildew. The airborne debris circulates inside the room mainly through the air conditioning and heating ductwork.
If you are also troubled by allergies whenever the air conditioner or furnace is switched on, you should read the following four effective tips to resolve the issue.
Here are 4 Ways to Prevent Allergies in Your Home
1. Clean Your Home’s Air Filters
Cleaning the air filters can help avoid allergic reactions. The air filter can get clogged with dirt and dust. This will not only strain the system and prevent proper cooling but also degrade the room air quality.
You should have the filter cleaned by a professional technician as part of our heating tune-up or AC tune-up. This will ensure that no dust permeates the air resulting in allergic reactions.
2. Keep Your Home at a Proper Temperature
You should keep the temperature of the air conditioner above 73o F, or 23o C. Keeping the temperature low irritates the sinus and mucus resulting in allergies and sores.
Also, when entering the house from the outside during blistering heat, you should allow your body to cool down for 10 minutes before entering the air-conditioned room.
3. Ensure Your Home Has Proper Humidity
While too much humidity inside the room is certainly uncomfortable, the same can be said for too low of humidity. Air conditioners can easily dry out the air. This can result in allergic reactions. The fact is that your respiratory system requires a certain level of humidity to function properly. Dry air will result in clogged sinus and sores.
Ideally, the humidity level in the room should be kept between 30 to 50 percent. You can buy a humidifier that can keep the humidity inside the room at the proper level. Also, you can buy an air conditioner that comes with a dehumidifier feature. Keeping the humidity levels at adequate levels will prevent allergic reactions.
By cleaning your home’s air filter, scheduling seasonal tune-ups, and installing UV filters, you can reduce indoor allergies caused by pollen, pet dander, and more.
4. Let fresh air into the home
The fourth most important piece of advice to avoid allergic reactions when turning on the AC is to get some fresh air. Being in an air-conditioned room for too long can cause disruption in the immune system. It’s recommended that you avoid being in the air-conditioned area for long hours.
Even 5 minutes of walking outside to get some fresh air can be beneficial for your body. Also, you can consider turning the AC off for some minutes during the evening and opening the windows to let fresh air inside the room.
