4 Household Allergens To Watch Out For and Eliminate
With millions of people suffering from year-round allergies, it’s important to do something about allergen-caused indoor air pollution. Once you know what some of the major allergens are and how to remove them, you can transform the air quality in your Valdosta, GA, home.
Dust
Dust is by far the most common household allergen, and its sources are virtually endless, with one’s bedding, furniture upholstery and carpeting serving as only a few potential breeding grounds. For those unfortunate to be allergic to dust, life can be quite difficult. Nevertheless, there are things one can do to mitigate the effects of these ubiquitous air pollutants.
The most important thing is to vacuum and wipe your home regularly and thoroughly, taking special care to cover hard-to-reach places like wall corners, shelves and the spaces behind and underneath furniture. It would help if you were especially meticulous about cleaning your bedroom. A few well-placed air purifiers can also be of assistance.
Pollen
With all of the plant life and vegetation growing in and around Valdosta, pollen is an especially common allergen. Ragweed and tree pollen are particularly abundant all over Georgia.
Virtually all pollen that finds its way indoors gets in from outside, thus highlighting the importance of carefully keeping doors and windows closed, especially when the weather is warm and the air is heaviest with this particular allergen. Pollen can also get into your home through your HVAC system’s ventilation ducts. To prevent this from happening, you should replace your system’s air filters with ones that have a higher MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) rating.
Pets and Dander
With many pet owners scattered across Georgia, one should expect that household pets would be among the greatest creators of allergens in your air. Hairy pets will have dust, dirt, pollen and other contaminants from outside stick to their coats and will bring those things in when they return indoors. They may even shed some of their hair, thus dispersing pollutants into your air even more.
Additionally, there’s also dander to worry about. This is the name for tiny dead skin cells that shed subtly and imperceptibly from your furry friends throughout the day and can trigger allergy symptoms when you breathe them in. Any rodents and insects in and around your home, like rats, ants or cockroaches in your walls, may also carry various allergy-causing pollutants with them.
The solution here is to carefully brush, clean and scrub your pets regularly, especially after they’ve been outside. This will take care of unwanted hair and dander. For other intruding animals, you’ll have to seal up your walls, not leave any food lying around and possibly hire pest control if the problem is serious enough.
Biological Contaminants
Microbial can sprout up in any area with persistently high moisture levels. In a domestic context, one common example of such a place is your air conditioning system, which can experience water leaks as a result of certain internal malfunctions. The air that circulates through your HVAC system might then sweep up some of the spores, and before you know it, you could wind up inhaling microbial growth.
Therefore, the moment that you notice any leaks coming from any part of your HVAC system, you should schedule an appointment with a repair service technician to resolve the issue. Routinely cleaning your bathrooms and checking for wet spots around your home will also help prevent contaminants from spreading.
Different allergens require specially tailored responses to deal with them. Nevertheless, as a general rule, installing some air purifiers in your home in Valdosta, GA, will always help to improve your indoor air quality and safeguard you and your household against the allergens we discussed. For help clearing your home of pollutants, call Waller Heating & Air Conditioning and ask for our indoor air quality services so you can sit back and breathe easy.
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