10 Tips to Breathe Easier at Home or at the Office

It starts with a little sneeze here, a scratchy throat there and suddenly you’re struggling with seasonal allergies. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, more than 50 million of us suffer through some kind of allergy every year.

Seasonal allergies, often called hay fever, are a reaction to pollen from trees, grasses and weeds. The high season for hay fever is spring and fall but the Sacramento region’s unseasonably warm, dry weather is making allergy season start earlier than usual. As the climate warms, pollen season starts sooner, lasts longer and produces more irritants.

Some precautions are obvious: when it's windy you should avoid going outside or wear a hat and sunglasses to protect yourself from allergens. Don’t forget that pets can bring allergens inside too. However, the best allergy prevention starts at home. The experts at Bonney Plumbing, Electrical Heating and Air offers ten tips to improve your indoor air quality at home or at your office:

1. Change your air filters: air filters are designed to trap contaminants lingering in your air but they can’t do their jobs when the filters are clogged. Skipping a filter change can increase the contaminants in your air and cause costly declination within your HVAC system.
2. Consider an electronic air cleaner: Even when you change your filter, smaller contaminants can pass through and circulate your home. Electronic air cleaners bridge the filtration gap by using electrostatic attraction to draw contaminants out of your air.
3. Reduce indoor chemicals: To keep chemicals out of your air supply, try switching to all-natural cleaning products and complete fume-heavy crafts outdoors or in well-ventilated spaces.
4. Increase fresh air ventilation: the pollutants inside your home can become up to 2-5 times more concentrated than they are outdoors, according to the EPA, because they become trapped inside and recirculate. To breathe more of that clean, outdoor air, you need fresh air ventilation.
5. Use germicidal UVC light purification: Instead of trapping airborne bacteria and viruses, a germicidal UVC light can kill them on the spot. This system is installed directly into your HVAC ductwork to purify the air before it is circulated throughout your home.
6. Maintain your plumbing (Yes! This affects your indoor air): When your plumbing incurs even a minor plumbing leak, it can lead to mold growth inside of your home or business. This mold can create harmful indoor air as well as costly water damage.
7. Clean your drains: Much like a plumbing leak, standing water in your kitchen or bathrooms can create an environment of excess moisture that fosters a breeding ground for mold and bacteria.
8. Add some indoor plants: Plants can provide an air cleaning boost with an attractive aesthetic.
9. HVAC system cleaning and maintenance: Your HVAC system distributes air throughout your home. If the system itself is dirty, it can impact air quality. Seasonal maintenance will keep your system clean while saving you money and preserving your unit.
10. Develop clean indoor habits: Everything from pet dandruff to cooking habits can impact the air quality in your home or business. By cleaning, vacuuming, and dusting regularly, you can prevent these particles from circulating throughout your air.

Bonney offers many solutions that can improve your home’s indoor air quality, such as electrostatic air filters, whole-house humidifiers, duct cleaning, and more to ensure your family is breathing safe, clean air all year long.

Before spring gets into full swing, get your house ready to ward off allergies and breathe easy all summer long.