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How HVAC Improvements May Help Your Seasonal Allergies and Health

Seasonal allergies affect millions of Americans each year. People experience symptoms like sneezing, congestion, and itchy eyes that can make daily activities difficult. While many people focus on how the outdoors can trigger allergies, many overlook the influence of indoor air quality. This is because indoor air can contain two to five times more allergens than outdoor air, making your home a potential source of allergy triggers rather than a source of relief.

Poor indoor air quality often worsens allergy symptoms because pollen, dust mites, pet dander, and mold spores become trapped inside. These particles circulate through your home and trigger immune responses even when you’re indoors. The good news is that you can significantly improve indoor air quality and reduce allergy symptoms by upgrading your HVAC system. Modern filters can address a wide range of allergens.

There are also related solutions such as ventilation upgrades and humidity controls that make a big difference. Let’s take a closer look at common seasonal allergy issues and how HVAC might be the answer.

Respiratory Health and IAQ

Poor indoor air quality doesn’t just trigger sneezing. It often drives serious health problems. When allergens and irritants build up in a home, they may create a cascade of respiratory issues.

For people with asthma, poor indoor air can trigger attacks more frequently and with greater severity. The constant exposure to triggers like dust mites and pet dander keeps airways inflamed and reactive. Those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) face increased breathing difficulties when indoor air contains pollutants.

Their already-compromised lungs struggle even with simple tasks. Indoor air pollution also weakens the body’s defenses against infections. This makes a person more likely to develop bronchitis, pneumonia, and other respiratory problems.

Even worse, ongoing exposure to poor indoor air can actually create new allergies. Over time, your immune system may become sensitized to substances that never bothered you before. The result is that your list of triggers expands.

HVAC and IAQ

Your HVAC system does much more than just heat and cool. It serves as the first line of defense against indoor air pollutants. The system pulls air from your home, processes it, and recirculates it throughout every room. This cycle is an excellent opportunity to capture allergens and irritants.

Modern HVAC systems include filters designed to trap particles as air passes through them. Basic HVAC filters catch larger particles like dust and lint, but this mostly benefits the system itself. More advanced filters can capture microscopic contaminants, including pollen, pet dander, and mold spores. With each pass through the system, your home’s IAQ becomes progressively cleaner.

Your HVAC system also helps control humidity levels. Dust mites thrive in humid environments. Also, mold needs moisture to grow. By maintaining optimal humidity between 30% and 50%, a well-designed HVAC makes your home less hospitable to common triggers.

Heating and AC maintenance service is another difference maker. Over time, HVAC filters become clogged with the very particles they’re designed to capture. When this happens, the airflow decreases, and the cleaning ability of the system suffers. Dirty ductwork can also become a reservoir for allergens.

Regular maintenance ensures your system functions at peak efficiency. We tell our customers to change their HVAC filters at least once every three months. You may want to be more aggressive if you or someone in your household have respiratory issues. Also, you should consider a more aggressive schedule if your home has pets. It’s a good idea to schedule a duct cleaning every few years, too. Once more, a more aggressive schedule may be necessary for health or lifestyle reasons.

Understanding Allergy-Friendly HVACs

When searching for an HVAC system to combat allergies, a handful of features make a significant difference. High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration is the gold standard for removing airborne allergens. HEPA filters capture 99.97 percent of particles as small as 0.3 microns. This includes pollen, dust mites, pet dander, most bacteria, and even many viruses.

This level of filtration removes allergens too small to see but large enough to trigger symptoms. Most traditional HVAC systems don’t use true HEPA filters due to airflow restrictions that harm operation. However, many newer and more advanced models are designed to work with HEPA filters.

Other valuable features include germicidal UV lights and electronic air cleaners. It is also a good idea to get an HVAC with a humidistat to monitor indoor humidity levels. Especially when paired with both a humidifier and a dehumidifier, a humidistat can go a long way toward alleviating allergies.

Advanced Technologies

Today’s indoor air quality technologies go beyond basic filtration to tackle even the smallest airborne contaminants. Air ionizers release negatively charged ions that attach to positively charged particles like dust, pollen, and bacteria. This makes the particles heavier, causing them to fall from the air onto surfaces where they can be vacuumed or wiped away. Some models include collection plates that attract these charged particles, further enhancing their capabilities.

Air scrubbers use powerful oxidizers that react to contaminants. Unlike passive filters, scrubbers disperse oxidizers that spread throughout your home. The oxidizers break down odors, chemicals, and even some viruses on contact.

Ultraviolet (UV) light purifiers target biological contaminants. Installed in your ductwork or air handler, UV light systems expose passing air to UV-C rays, which damages the DNA of microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, and mold spores. UV light exposure prevents them from reproducing and effectively neutralizes them. If you’ve ever heard that sunlight is the best disinfectant, just understand that this effect is why. UV systems are particularly effective against mold that might grow on cooling coils and drain pans.

Whole-Home Solutions

Whole-home air quality systems offer significant advantages over using small filtration units in multiple rooms. Integrated systems combine multiple technologies. You can pack advanced filtration, purification and humidity control into one cohesive solution. A whole-home system works silently through your existing HVAC and ductwork. This eliminates the clutter, noise and maintenance of multiple portable units.

For allergy sufferers, a comprehensive approach means there are no problem areas in a home. The system captures a broader spectrum of contaminants than any single standalone technology can. Pollen, dust mites, pet dander, mold spores and even microscopic particles all encounter different removal methods before they ever exit an air vent.

The Pros Can Help

Hoff Heating & AC is a family business that cares about your family’s comfort. We work on numerous types of heating systems, including heat pumps and furnaces. You can also ask us about air conditioning and indoor air quality issues. Additionally, we specialize in geothermal HVAC solutions and ductless mini-splits.

Our technicians are ready to assist you with installations, repairs, and maintenance. We have more than three decades of experience working on HVAC projects. Our technicians are NATE-certified, and we are a Lennox Premier Dealer. When we’re on a job, we work efficiently and expeditiously while making sure that all systems function reliably.

If you want to discuss HVAC improvements to address allergies and other respiratory issues in your home in O’Fallon, contact Hoff Heating & AC today.