How to Ease Your Spring Allergies in Your Home

Normally, our intuition tells us to stay indoors when allergies flare up. However, your HVAC system could be harboring irritants that will continue to aggravate your symptoms inside of your home.

If you have allergies or asthma, indoor air pollution can trigger your symptoms. Most people don't realize that indoor air pollution levels are actually much higher than those outdoors — two to five times higher, claim allergists.

Common indoor allergens include:

Mold

Pet dander

Dust mites

Pollen

When these particles become airborne, you can breathe them in and experience an allergic reaction. The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system in your home can both harbor and spread mold and other allergens.

Optimize Your HVAC System

Filters can help minimize exposure to allergens from your HVAC system. Filters can be built into the air ducts in your home, but keep in mind, not all filters are created equally. The effectiveness of filters is measured in something called MERVs [minimum efficiency recording value]. MERVs range from 1 to 20, with 20 providing the highest level of particle filtration.

Types of HVAC Filters

Other things to know about HVAC filters include the following:

Flat panel filters: These filters, put in place by most furnace manufacturers, generally have a rating of one to four MERVs, and are designed to protect the furnace, not improve indoor air quality.

Medium efficiency filters: These pleated furnace filters have a higher surface area and, therefore, filter more particles out of the air. Their MERV rating ranges from five to 13.

High efficiency filters: These filters have MERV ratings of 14 to 16, and remove even smaller particles than pleated filters.

HEPA filters: High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters have MERV ratings of 17 to 20, and are not typically recommended for centralized home HVAC systems unless major — read expensive — updates are made to the system. This is because high energy and HEPA filters can be so efficient that your HVAC system ends up requiring more energy to power the fan that gets air circulating.

Controlling Indoor Allergens: Regular HVAC Maintenance

It is important to change filters regularly — as recommended, or every two months during use — and follow any maintenance instructions recommended by the air conditioner system's manufacturer. If you suspect mold may be growing inside your air conditioning system, you may want to consider having the air ducts cleaned.

If you see mold particles growing near the ducts or on other components of the system or if you smell a musty or moldy odor coming from your vents, consult a duct cleaning professional to check for an accumulation of mold.

Another thing you may want to consider when building a new home or replacing your existing HVAC system is a unit that replaces indoor air with filtered outdoor air.

Give us a call today to schedule a tune up and we can help ease the spring sneezing (inside your home, at least.)

Keep Your Home Safe, Clean, and Comfortable All Year: the Spring Coupon is Here!

Our spring coupon with can’t beat offers is now available! Print it off for Comfort Club deals, a spring tune-up package, and more!

                Find it below as well as on our Specials page, with other offers for year-round comfort.

10 Things on your spring cleaning checklist

The daffodils are peaking through, the thunder storms are rolling, and the layers are coming off… Spring has sprung here in Richmond!

With the equinox comes spring cleaning. There’s never a nicer time to fling open the windows and refresh your home. Often overlooked is a home’s heating and air systems. There is no better time to do a check up on your equipment… The sweltering Richmond summers are a terrible time to find out you need work done!

ENERGY STAR is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) voluntary program that helps businesses and individuals save money and protect our climate through superior energy efficiency. Energy Star has put together a spring checklist to make sure your equipment is in top shape to keep you and yours comfortable and healthy in the months to come!

Maintain your equipment to prevent future problems and unwanted costs. Keep your cooling and heating system at peak performance by having a specialist do annual pre-season check-ups. Specialists get busy once summer and winter come, so it's best to check the cooling system in the spring and the heating system in the fall. To remember, plan the check-ups around the time changes in the spring and fall.

A typical maintenance check-up should include the following:

Check thermostat settings to ensure the cooling and heating system keeps you comfortable when you are home and saves energy while you are away.

Tighten all electrical connections and measure voltage and current on motors. Faulty electrical connections can cause unsafe operation of your system and reduce the life of major components.

Lubricate all moving parts. Parts that lack lubrication cause friction in motors and increases the amount of electricity you use.

Check and inspect the condensate drain in your central air conditioner, furnace and/or heat pump (when in cooling mode). A plugged drain can cause water damage in the house and affect indoor humidity levels.

Check controls of the system to ensure proper and safe operation. Check the starting cycle of the equipment to assure the system starts, operates, and shuts off properly.

Clean evaporator and condenser air conditioning coils. Dirty coils reduce the system's ability to cool your home and cause the system to run longer, increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment.

Check your central air conditioner's refrigerant level and adjust if necessary. Too much or too little refrigerant will make your system less efficient increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment.

Clean and adjust blower components to provide proper system airflow for greater comfort levels. Airflow problems can reduce your system's efficiency by up to 15%.

Actions To Do Yourself:

Inspect, clean, or change air filters once a month in your central air conditioner, furnace, and/or heat pump. Your contractor can show you how to do this. A dirty filter can increase energy costs and damage your equipment, leading to early failure.

Howell’s offers a Comfort Club membership designed to troubleshoot your system for you.  As a member you receive routine maintenance on your HVAC system, discount on repairs, preferred services, and much more. Give us a call today for details!

Enjoy the sun and blooms, RVA!