Can you suffer from allergies around fall? You absolutely can! Allergens can appear at any moment. Although spring allergies may be more common, allergies in the fall are a serious problem for lots of people. Here, McKinley Heating Service Experts strives to help you understand and fight fall allergies. Unfortunately, the solution isn’t as straightforward as staying away from the pollen-filled world around your home. Fall allergy season finds several ways into your home. By identifying what causes fall allergies, you can also identify the best ways to minimize them.
How to Identify Fall Allergy Symptoms
Recognizing your fall allergy symptoms can be trickier than it might seem. The symptoms of seasonal fall allergies are commonly discreet and mistaken for a slight cold. Coughing, sneezing and sinusitis are typical symptoms that appear in both fall allergies and the common cold. A healthcare provider is always the most reliable source for confirming allergies. However, a few common symptoms of fall allergies and sinusitis include:
- Itchy or watery eyes
- Sneezing
- Coughing
- Headache
- Fatigue or tiredness
What Causes Fall Allergies?
When investigating what leads to fall allergies in your particular case, there are several possible culprits. Dust mites and allergens can accumulate in countless places inside your home. Many of these sources of seasonal fall allergies can be managed with professional air quality services including those offered by McKinley Heating Service Experts. However, the most prevalent 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 soft furniture
- Debris buildup in your ducts
Solutions for Seasonal Fall Allergies
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America states that homeowners managing fall allergies should boost their air quality in three ways. First, you can limit your exposure to airborne allergens inside your home. This involves having a whole-house dehumidifier, air duct cleaning and preventing your home from getting too warm. Second, you should ventilate your space, ensuring that airborne contaminants don't accumulate in stagnant air. Third, you could think about installing an air cleaner to clear allergens from the air. Learn more about each solution below.
Control Your Home’s Humidity with a Whole-House Dehumidifier
When the air in your home deviates from the EPA’s suggested humidity levels (30%-40% humidity), it creates a petri dish for mold, dust mites and countless other sources of allergic reactions. With a whole-house dehumidifier, you have fine-tuned control over the humidity levels across your entire home. These innovative dehumidifiers allow you to dictate the humidity inside your home within 1% of the preferred levels, removing the conditions for excess mold, dust mites, fungi, bacteria and other microbes.
Keep Your Air Healthy 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 your ductwork, it goes through a strong ultraviolet light that deactivates contaminants before they can multiply. This system resolves the question, “What is the best air purifier for allergies?” This system can quickly make your air significantly cleaner. UV lights have been known to eliminate half of the concentrated bioaerosols within their initial 45 minutes of use.
Get Rid of Contaminants with HEPA Air Filters
When you favor a high-end air filter, you want a HEPA air filter that can remove 99.97% of the impurities in the air. Due to their distinct design, these filters collect the most common causes of fall allergies from their air, like ragweed, pollen and dust mites. HEPA air filters also eliminate contaminants such as:
- Tobacco smoke
- Dirt particles
- Pollen
- Ragweed
- Dust mites
- Various odors and airborne chemicals
Consistently Clean Your HVAC System’s Ducts
Historically, HVAC systems have not always done well with removing impurities from the air. This means that debris routinely spreads through ductwork for many years. Over time, some of that debris may build up inside your air ducts. This is why some people suggest McKinley Heating Service Experts and our duct cleaning services before turning on the heat for the first time in the fall. Taking care of this early in the season can eliminate one of the most common sources of airborne contaminants within your home.
The 10 Cities in the United States With the Most Difficult Fall Allergy Seasons
In many cases, your location has a significant impact on the extent of your fall allergy symptoms. Fall allergies are identified to be worse in specific areas of the country versus others. As an example, ragweed (one of the most extensive sources of allergy-inducing pollen) is more common in the country’s eastern region and in the Midwest. That said, allergies can remain a significant problem no matter where you live. Here are the 10 most difficult cities for those with seasonal allergies.
Getting Support From McKinley Heating Service Experts
As you have now seen, the ideal solution for dust mites and fall allergies involves an all-out assault on the pollutants and contaminants in the air inside your home. Your home will require a specialized approach structured for that home’s individual makeup and layout. With air quality specialists throughout the United States, McKinley Heating Service Experts can help in almost every corner of the country. If you want one of our indoor air quality experts to help eliminate as many allergens as possible, call or fill out a contact form when you're ready to start.