As the warm spring weather finally breaks the cold winter season, many of us are experiencing an uptick in our allergy symptoms. Now is the perfect time to prepare your HVAC system to help minimize the amount of allergens in your home. Below, we’ll share with you some of our best tips for optimizing your indoor environment during allergy season to minimize your flare-ups.
HVAC Maintenance
One of the best ways to start prepping your home for allergy season is HVAC maintenance. This is where one of our service technicians will clean, test, and inspect your system to ensure that it’s working efficiently. The maintenance process helps remove any unwanted airborne contaminants from within your HVAC system so they’re not constantly circulating in your ducting. Plus, it will ensure your system is producing adequate airflow to keep you comfortable throughout the entire summer season.
We recommend having HVAC maintenance performed twice per year, once in the spring and again in the fall. Fortunately, TCS Heating and Air Conditioning offers an HVAC maintenance plan that includes a 22-point inspection during each maintenance check as well as reduced diagnostic fees, a 15% discount on parts and labor, and a one-year part replacement guarantee for your peace of mind.
AC Filter Replacement
The filter inside your air conditioner has a big impact on the amount of allergens in your home. The better its filtering capability, the more allergens it can remove from your home to reduce your flare-ups. All HVAC filters have a MERV rating, with a higher rating corresponding to better filtering capabilities. Ideally, you’ll want a filter with a MERV rating of 11 to 13. While there are filters with a rating of up to 20, anything higher than 13 is typically designed for use in more powerful industrial HVAC equipment.
Extended Media Filter
If you want to take your filtration up a level, consider purchasing an extended media filter for your HVAC system. This device offers better filtration than a typical HVAC filter. It gets positioned inside your return ducting so it can treat all the air coming back into your ductwork from your rooms.
This type of filtration device has multiple built-in filters that work to remove different types of airborne allergens. You can even purchase one with an activated carbon filter to help remove unwanted odors from your home. It’s typically necessary to replace the extended media filter every six months.
Whole-Home Dehumidifier
When humidity levels start to increase as we enter into the summer, it can create a plethora of problems that wreak havoc on your allergies. High humidity levels are where airborne allergens, such as dust mites and mold, thrive. They’re also responsible for weighing down allergens like pollen that more readily stick to your clothes and skin.
Being able to control the humidity level inside your home can help minimize some of these problems. A whole-home dehumidification system is great for removing excess humidity from inside your home. You simply set your desired humidity level on your thermostat and your dehumidification system will kick on whenever the humidity level gets above your setting. This is not only great for reducing allergens in your home but also increasing your comfort by making it feel cooler.
UV Sanitizing Lights
If you’re okay with investing more money upfront to enhance the air quality in your home, investing in UV sanitizing lights is your best option. UV germicidal lights work to disrupt the DNA of unwanted airborne allergens so they can’t reproduce. This is great for minimizing allergens in your home and reducing your allergy symptoms throughout the spring and summer seasons.
There are two different types of UV lights that you can purchase that seamlessly integrate with your HVAC system. These are coil sanitizing and air sanitizing lights. Coil sanitizing lights are installed above the evaporator coil inside your indoor air handler unit. They work best for not only treating the air but also preventing mold and mildew growth from developing on your coil. Air sanitizing lights get installed inside your return ducting and treat air that runs through the ducting.
Ductwork Cleaning
While you might not see the inside of it regularly, your ducting plays a big determining role in your indoor air quality. Over time, debris like pet dander and dust mites can accumulate inside your ductwork. This will reduce your air quality and can even restrict the airflow in your ducting, resulting in your HVAC system working overtime.
Duct cleaning service involves a professional technician thoroughly cleaning the inside of your ductwork to remove this built-up debris. This is great for enhancing your indoor air quality and the efficiency of your HVAC system. We recommend getting duct cleaning every three years. It’s typically a good idea to pair it with sealing service about every 10 years, as this will seal up any air leaks in your ductwork to prevent unwanted outside debris from pulling in from your exposed wall and floor crevices.
Air Sealing
Anytime air from outside is able to penetrate your home, it can decrease your indoor air quality and allow more airborne allergens to float around. At the beginning of the spring season, it’s best to go around all your exterior walls and locate the air gaps that have opened up.
Seal any gaps with weather stripping, caulking, foam insert pads, spray foam, or any other product designed to block the outside air from coming inside. These leaks are going to be most prominent around your door frames, window frames, light switches, and outlets on all your exterior walls.
Allergy Vent Covers
A fairly cost-effective and simple solution for increased air quality and reduced airborne particles is allergy vent covers. These are simple magnetic covers that sit over the registers for your ductwork. As air travels in or out of the vent, depending on whether it’s a supply or return vent, airborne particles like dust and dander become trapped in the filter cover. Be sure to wash or replace the vent cover routinely for the best results.
Other Tips for Reducing Airborne Allergens
While focusing on enhancing the efficiency and operation of your HVAC system can be a great way to remove many airborne allergens from your home, there are some other practices you can do consistently to help minimize their presence. One of the easiest things to do is invest in a HEPA vacuum and use it regularly to rid allergens from the surfaces in your home.
Opt for washing your bedding at least once a week to get rid of dust mites and be sure to bathe your pets frequently to reduce the amount of dander they release into the air. Aim to use low-pile rugs, as they’ll trap fewer particles than high-pile ones. Always choose damp cloths over dry ones when cleaning to reduce the likelihood of kicking up excess dust.
Reliable Indoor Air Quality Service
TCS Heating and Air Conditioning offers reliable indoor air quality service to residents of New Britain, PA. We can also help with all your HVAC maintenance, whole-home dehumidifier, and UV lighting needs. Call us today to book a service consultation.
