Allergy Season is Here, Learn What You Can Do About Pollen

When temperatures start to warm up around Long Island, allergies appear. Most allergies are caused by the presence and movement of pollen and dust through the air.

If you suffer from allergies indoors, you don’t have to agonize throughout the spring and summer. A few changes in your home can help reduce your allergy symptoms and alleviate suffering.

Here are three steps that can help to ease allergies indoors:

Change air filters — Your HVAC equipment’s air filter naturally collects the dust inside your home as your home’s air circulates through the entire system. However, if you don’t change the filter, it will become clogged, no longer able to trap dust and debris. As a result, that dirt will generally remain in your ductwork and the air. You can reduce the amount of dust in your home by replacing the filter at least every three months. You may want to replace the filter monthly, however, if you have extreme sensitivity to dust.
Professional maintenance — If you haven’t kept a regular maintenance schedule, then you probably have a large buildup of dust and contaminants in your system. With preventive maintenance, an HVAC professional will clean your ductwork and HVAC equipment, which will help to reduce the amount of dust in your home. So it’s important to schedule tune-ups each year to help reduce dust and allergens in your home, as well as reduce other harmful emissions, such as exhaust fumes and other chemicals, which can aggravate allergies.
Sealing ducts — If your ducts are improperly sealed, dust inside your ductwork will leak out before it can be trapped in the filter. Instead, the dust is scattered throughout the house, further impacting allergies. Having your ductwork professionally sealed will help direct the dust into the air filter, and keep your indoor air as clean as possible.

For more information on reducing spring allergies, or other HVAC issues, contact us at T.F. O’Brien Cooling & Heating. We provide all of Long Island with the HVAC service and care that you need to stay healthy throughout the year.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Allergens image via Shutterstock