How Your Furnace Can Worsen Your Allergies

Have you ever caught when you run your furnace for the first time in the fall, you’re sniffling more frequently? While spring allergies usually get a more severe reputation, fall allergies are still very prominent and many people are affected by them. For some, fall allergies can be even worse than spring thanks to colder temps impairing our immune systems and from winding up our equipment. This may leave you wondering, can furnaces make allergies worse in Jackson, or even trigger them?

While furnaces can’t cause allergies, they could aggravate them. How? During the hotter months, dust, dander and other allergens can build up in heating ducts. When the colder conditions arrive and we switch our furnaces on for the first time, all those allergens are now pushed out of the vents and circulate through our homes. Thankfully, there are things you can do to stop your furnace from worsening your allergies.

How to Keep Your Furnace from Triggering Your Allergies

1. Change Your HVAC Filter. Frequently replacing your filters is one of the best tasks you can complete to help your allergies at any time of the year. New filters are ideal for catching the allergens in your residence’s air, helping to keep you in better health.
2. Dust Your Air Ducts. Not only do particulates harbor in your HVAC filters, but in your vents as well. An air duct cleaning might help reduce allergy symptoms and help your HVAC system work more efficiently. When you schedule an air duct cleaning, technicians survey and clean components like your supply/return ducts and registers, grilles and diffusers.
3. Keep Your Furnace in Good Working Condition. Adequate HVAC maintenance and regular checkups are another great way to both increase your house’s air quality and keep your heating working as effectively as possible. In advance of switching your furnace on for the first time, it tends to help to have an HVAC technician complete a maintenance inspection to confirm your filters and air ducts are clean and everything else is in good shape.

Allergies and continual illness can be annoying, and it can be difficult to discover what’s causing or worsening them. Here are some extra FAQs, along with answers and ideas that can help.

Is Forced Air Harmful for Allergies?

Allergy sufferers are often told that forced air heating could affect your allergies even more. Forced air systems can push allergens through the air, resulting in you breathing them in more frequently than if you owned a radiant heating system. While it’s accurate forced air systems may make your allergies more severe, that is only if you don’t take proper upkeep of your system. Other than the things we listed previously, you can also:

• Dust and vacuum your home frequently. If there aren’t dust, dander or mold spore particles to collect in your air ducts, your air system can’t carry them into the air, and you can’t inhale them. Some extra cleaning suggestions involve:
  • Make sure your vacuum has a HEPA filter.
  • Dust in advance of vacuuming.
  • Clean your curtains regularly, as they are a common harbor of allergens.
  • Make sure to clean behind and under furniture.
• Check your house’s moisture levels. Increased humidity levels can also contribute to more severe allergies. Humidity causes mold growth and dust mites. Adding a dehumidifier to your HVAC system keeps moisture levels under control and your indoor air quality much healthier.

What is the Ideal Furnace Filter for Allergies?

Typically, HEPA filters are a strong option if you or someone in your household struggles with allergies. HEPA filters are rated to remove 99.97 to 99.99% of particles, such as dust, pollen and dirt. These filters have a MERV rating of 17-21, depending on the type. This rating illustrates how well a filter can clean pollutants from the air. Because of their high-efficiency filtration construction, HEPA filters are deep and can limit airflow. It’s helpful to contact Comfortech Service Experts to ensure your heating and cooling system can operate properly with these high efficiency filters.

Can Clogged Filters or Air Ducts Make Me Sick?

Old filters can trap particles and allow poor quality air to move throughout your home. This also applies to dusty air ducts. If you inhale these particles it can produce sneezing, coughing or other asthma-related issues, depending on your sensitivity.

It’s smart to switch out your HVAC filter after 30-60 days, but here are some signals you might need to more regularly:

• It’s taking a longer amount of time for your system to cool or heat your residence.
• You come across more dust in your house.
• Utility costs are increasing with no obvious reason.
• Your allergies are acting up.

Symptoms your air ducts need cleaning include:

• The metal is covered in dust.
• Dirty supply and return vents.
• Mold in your furnace, air conditioner, heat pump or air handler.
• Dust coming from your vents when your HVAC system is running.
• Your residence is frequently dusty, despite continuous cleaning.

Your health and comfort are our top priority at Comfortech Service Experts . Whether it’s furnace repair right away.