If you suffer from seasonal allergies caused by things like pet fur, dander, pollen, dust mites, and many other airborne contaminants, spring may be a time of year you come to dread. While the warming weather may bring about new and awakening plant life, it does also mean that pets will blow their thick winter coats, organisms will leave their dormant state, and all of these will contribute to increased allergy symptoms. Of course, if you fear sneezing, watery eyes, coughing, or worse symptoms like asthma attacks, you may not have to go far in order to find the best tool for fighting back: your air conditioner.
Can Pollen Come Through Your Air Conditioner?
Most people don’t realize it but the air conditioner in your home is arguably one of the most effective tools for removing airborne allergens like pollen. Here are a few ways you can boost this ability and utilize it both as a way of keeping you cool and preventing you from suffering from allergies this season.
- Change Your Air Filter: Your central air conditioner's filter strains dirt, dust, pollen, and other allergens out before they can be recirculated back through your home or get stuck to your air conditioner coil or inside your ducts. However, we’ve found that far too many people don’t pay enough attention to their air conditioner’s filter, meaning they likely have a dirty and clogged air filter that isn’t able to effectively do its job. You should regularly check your air filter every month or two, particularly during allergy season. A dirty air filter can also impact your AC's overall efficiency, cause the coils to freeze, and more. If you want to avoid a costly breakdown and keep your air conditioner running at peak condition, check and change your air filter as often as you find it necessary.
- Run Your Fan: Spring isn’t always super warm: in fact, it’s been quite cool and rainy here in Southern California lately. This likely means you don’t want to run your air conditioner to find allergy relief—it’s too cold to be comfortable. However, you don’t have to. Simply turn the temperature on your thermostat up a few degrees and then switch the fan to “on” and you should still receive air circulation. While this won’t change the temperature in your home, the continual air circulation will continue to strain the contaminants out of the air that passes through the intake vent and into the fan itself, keeping dust and airborne allergens under control without the need to cool the temperature.
- Keep the Air Dry: Southern California’s beaches are revered for their beauty, but they’re a little lesser-known for the humidity they can have on some days. Warmer days can lead to a lot of water vapor in the air, and that humidity is a breeding ground for one of the biggest and most threatening allergens of the bunch: mold spores. Any standing moisture in your home combined with humidity and an organic, carbon-based surface such as drywall or structural wood can all become a breeding ground for mold colonies, which can not only trigger allergy attacks but even harm your overall health in the event you develop a black mold colony. The best way to combat mold is to keep the air in your home dry. Air conditioners remove humidity from the air, keeping you cool and comfortable while removing the sticky, muggy feeling that can occasionally accompany our beachy climate.
Call Trifecta Heating & Air Conditioning today at (714) 465-5525 or contact us online and let one of our Huntington Beach air conditioning experts help you improve the indoor air quality of your home!