Seasonal changes in temperature, humidity, and the growth of certain plants along with their pollen can all affect the air quality in your home. Whether you have a new system and even a new home or have a system that’s several years old, you need to learn more about how the seasons can affect the air in your home. This is especially important for anyone who has allergies or has a family member who experiences negative symptoms whenever the conditions outside change.
How Spring Affects the Air Quality In Your Home
There are a couple of ways that the air quality in your home can change in accordance with the changing of the season to spring. Namely, pollen can get inside the home, resulting in an environment that makes the air uncomfortable for anyone who has allergies. In March, April, and May, the temperatures and humidity levels rise, and it’s more common for people to open windows to let in fresh air and cool down homes without relying on their air conditioners. When you open windows during the spring, it’s more likely that you’re also letting mold spores, pollen, and other allergens into your home.
One of the plus sides of spring air is that upper respiratory infections, colds, and the flu actually decrease due to the higher levels of humidity. As spring nears its end and transitions to summer, many of the allergy symptoms will also wane, but mold and dust actually continue to increase as the weather turns warmer and more humid.
Types of Allergens That Enter the Home
Pollen is one of the most common allergens that affect people in the spring. But mold spores and even insects can also be a source of lower air quality. It’s common for people to experience a variety of symptoms when the air quality changes in the spring, including itchy eyes, a runny nose, an itchy throat, sinus headaches, and other symptoms that are similar to a cold. Additionally, many people develop allergies after years of not experiencing them, so it’s worthwhile to investigate if you think you might have recently developed allergies.
How You Can Maintain Higher Air Quality During Allergy Season
If you want to breathe easier when there are a lot of allergens in the air, there are several tips that you can incorporate. Making sure that you change your air filter is one of the most important and easiest ways to improve the air quality. Your HVAC system will have a recommended time frame that you should change your air filter, but you should never go more than four months without changing it. Additionally, if your allergies are really bad or the pollen has been flying more than usual, there’s nothing wrong with changing it more often.
Another tip is to invest in duct cleaning. During this process, our technicians will dislodge dirt and debris. Then, they’ll vacuum it up so that it’s not being recirculated throughout the home as your HVAC system blows warm or cold air through the ducts. Industry standards suggest that you have your ducts cleaned once every three to five years, but like changing your filters, if you feel that you would benefit from more frequent cleanings, there’s nothing wrong with that. Additionally, you can also invest in an air purification system, improve your ventilation, or even simply have more plants in your home to rid the home of carbon dioxide and add fresh oxygen.
You should also schedule regular cleaning to prevent allergens from entering the duct system. And don’t forget to clean off any dust on the coils on your air conditioner and in other key places so that your air conditioner continues to run well and doesn’t spread dust and allergens. And if you’re seeing more insects inside the home, be choosy about what kinds of cleaners and chemicals you use to get rid of them.
Our Services
Contact Climate Control in Portland, OR and the surrounding areas when you’re interested in getting an HVAC service. Whether you need a new system installed, a repair, or a maintenance service, we’re here to provide you with what you need to keep the air inside your home as free of allergens as possible so that you and your family can breathe more easily and experience fewer headaches.
