Spring is a great time of year for many people, but yet to others it means runny -itchy nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, itching-watery eyes and even under eye dark circles.
What is the primary cause?
Pollen! Pollen is released into the air from trees, grasses and weeds, which is then moved around by the wind, kids & pets. Allergy sufferers don’t stand a chance while they are outside. Unfortunately most allergy suffers do not get any relief once they get home & inside.
Warning; technical talk.
Most pollen in our area is around 6-10 microns. As a reference point human hair is about 50-70 microns. MERV rating on filters tells what size solid particulate can be captured by the filter. Most all filters will catch this size of particulate and probably capture it. There are other filter choices I’ll discuss further down.
“So how do I improve my indoor air quality during pollen season?”
If you or a family member has spring allergies be sure to change your filter(s) now and change them every 30-45 days through the pollen season. Another thing you can do to is run your blower fan in continuous all day long or at least during sleep hours each night to help clean the air as much as possible.
Another thing is to set your air conditioner at a setting so it will run during each 24 hour period. The reason for doing this is to clean the air an additional way. In the cooling mode the evaporator coil is wet because of more technical talk. The air passes through the wet coil on the way to your rooms in the house and some of the pollen is captured in this process and sent down the drain.
More Technical Talk
As I stated above we need to discuss filters and air cleaners in more detail. Air filters have MERV ratings from 4-12. MERV 12 filters will catch particulate down to 3.0-1.0 microns. While this is very good they only catch about 80% of the particulate that is 3 microns or larger but only 10% of particulate that is .3 microns.
Our air cleaners will catch 97% of .3 microns and larger, which is a major improvement for the quality of the air you breathe in your home. Air cleaners are so efficient they will also take care of most odors and airborne germs.
I would love to talk to you about your IAQ solutions so feel free to call me at 806-373-2537.
Thanks again
Gary Ward
