Can you have allergies around fall? You most definitely can! Allergens can appear at any moment. Although spring allergies can be more prevalent, allergies in the fall are a significant problem for millions of people. Here, Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning will help you learn more about and fight fall allergies. Regrettably, the solution isn’t as easy as avoiding the pollen-filled world outside your home. Fall allergy season finds several ways into your home. By determining what causes fall allergies, you can fully understand the best ways to minimize them.
How to Identify Fall Allergy Symptoms
Determining your fall allergy symptoms can be trickier than it might seem. The symptoms of seasonal fall allergies are commonly discreet and mistaken for a minor cold. Coughing, sneezing and sinusitis are typical symptoms that develop in both fall allergies and the common cold. A healthcare professional is always the most dependable source for confirming allergies. However, some common symptoms of fall allergies and sinusitis include:
- Itchy or watery eyes
- Sneezing
- Coughing
- Headache
- Fatigue or tiredness
What Produces Fall Allergies?
When investigating what leads to fall allergies in your exact case, there are plenty of potential culprits. Dust mites and allergens can build up in countless places within your home. Many of these sources of seasonal fall allergies can be minimized with professional air quality services including those offered by Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning. However, the most likely sources of indoor fall allergies include:
- Airborne pollen
- Mold
- Dust mites
- Pets
- Wall-to-wall carpet
- Damp areas
- Indoor plants
- Stuffed toys
- Mattresses and other cushioned furniture
- Debris accumulation in your ducts
Work-Arounds for Seasonal Fall Allergies
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America says that homeowners dealing with fall allergies should improve their air quality in three ways. First, you can reduce your contact with airborne allergens within your home. This requires using a whole-house dehumidifier, air duct cleaning and stopping your home from getting too warm. Second, you must ventilate your house, ensuring that airborne particles don't build up in stagnant air. Third, you could think about installing an air cleaner to eliminate allergens from the air. Learn more about each of these solutions below.
Manage Your Home’s Humidity with a Whole-House Dehumidifier
When the air in your home deviates from the EPA’s ideal humidity levels (30%-40% humidity), it encourages a petri dish for mold, dust mites and various other sources of allergic reactions. With a whole-house dehumidifier, you have precise control over the humidity levels throughout your entire home. These innovative dehumidifiers allow you to control the humidity inside your home within 1% of the set levels, removing the conditions for excessive mold, dust mites, fungi, bacteria and other contaminants.
Keep Your Air Clear With Ultraviolet Germicidal Lights
Ultraviolet germicidal lights deactivate microorganisms in the air in your home before it circulates through your ductwork. As the air exits your HVAC unit and enters the air ducts, it moves through an intense ultraviolet light that eliminates contaminants before they can multiply. This system resolves the question, “What is the best air purifier for allergies?” This system will quickly make your air noticeably cleaner. UV lights have been shown to remove half of the concentrated bioaerosols within their first 45 minutes of use.
Get Rid of Contaminants with HEPA Air Filters
When you want a high-end air filter, you need a HEPA air filter that can capture 99.97% of the pollutants in the air. Because of their unique design, these filters snatch the most frequent triggers of fall allergies from their air, including ragweed, pollen and dust mites. HEPA air filters also remove contaminants such as:
- Tobacco smoke
- Dirt particles
- Pollen
- Ragweed
- Dust mites
- Various odors and airborne chemicals
Routinely Clean Your HVAC System’s Ducts
Traditionally, HVAC systems have not always done a thorough job removing impurities from the air. This means that debris routinely circulates through ductwork for decades. Over time, some of that debris may pile up in your ductwork. This is why some people recommend Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning and our duct cleaning services before turning on the heat for the first time in the fall. This can resolve one of the most substantial sources of airborne contaminants within your home.
The 10 Cities in the United States With the Most Difficult Fall Allergy Seasons
Most of the time, your location has a big impact on the intensity of your fall allergy symptoms. Fall allergies are identified to be more serious in specific areas of the country versus others. For example, ragweed (one of the most prevalent sources of allergy-inducing pollen) is more common in the country’s eastern region as well as in the Midwest. Nonetheless, allergies can become a significant problem no matter where you live. Here are the 10 toughest cities for those managing seasonal allergies.
Getting Help From Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning
As you have now seen, the ideal strategy for dust mites and fall allergies involves an all-out assault on the pollutants and allergens in the air within your home. Every home will require a precise approach suited for that home’s individual makeup and layout. With air quality specialists all over the United States, Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning can offer support in almost every corner of the country. If you want one of our indoor air quality experts to help address as many sources of allergens as possible, call or fill out a contact form when you're ready to start.