Conquer Spring Allergies

Posted by Ben Thompson on 03.29.09

 

 

Thompson Tips for Conquering Allergies:  "Build it tight, ventilate right!"
  1. Housekeeping - before you spend any money, start with elbow grease.  It isnt' sexy, but it's really effective.  Vacuum religiously, dust, dust, dust, use mats at doors, don't keep towels longer than a few years.
  2. Reduce Allergy Catchers - Change pillows annually, change mattress every 10 yrs, eliminate carpet.
  3. Pleated furnace filter - These remove much smaller particulates out of the air (MERV), must change them as recommended, thicker filters last longer.  Bath & Kitchen fans also remove concentrations of pollutants.
  4. HEPA Filtration - Units are pretty good.  Whole house is better (but considerably more expensive).
  5. HEPA on an Air to Air Exchanger (ERV) - this is hospital quality, fresh & filtered air, right in your home.

Fresh, clean air is something you may not notice at first but once you experience it, you'll love it!

Definitions (http://www.furnacecompare.com/faq/definitions/hepa.html):

  • The acronym HEPA stands for "High Efficiency Particulate Air" or "High Efficiency Particulate Absorbing"  Technically speaking, the US Centers for Disease Control defines a HEPA filter as an air filter that removes more than 99.97% of particles 0.3 microns or larger at a specified flow rate of air.
  • The acronym MERV stands for "Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value"

Want to learn more about IAQ?  Visit: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/ia-intro.html

Topics: On the Radio, dust, HEPA, IAQ, particles, ventilation, air, allergies, High Efficiency Particulate Air, spring