5 Actions You Can Take To Prevent Horrible Arizona Allergies!

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5 Actions You Can Take To Prevent Horrible Arizona Allergies!

Five Tips To Improve Indoor Air Quality So You Breathe Easy This Spring
As the weather heats up, the desert plants begin to bloom and the pollution increases, many people experience allergy symptoms like a runny nose and itchy, watery eyes. Indoor air is even worse in some cases, especially when the home has been closed up for months with little fresh air making its way inside. While you certainly cannot control nature and remove all the dust, pollen, and allergens, you can control the interior air quality. In fact, there are five specific steps that you can take to eliminate irritants from your home, so you and your family can breathe more freely this spring.Clean ThoroughlySpring cleaning is an incredibly useful way to remove all of the dust and other debris that have settled in over the winter. Every room should receive a thorough cleaning from top to bottom. That means washing the ceiling along with any fans or light fixtures. Work your way down the walls and trim work, and eventually to the floor. Move the furniture, dust every side, and then vacuum, sweep or mop their spaces before replacing them. Spring is also an excellent time to clean out the air conditioning and heater vent covers so that the air will flow more freely through them.Window Coverings and CarpetHeavy draperies, blinds, and other window treatments are a magnet for dust, which piles up over time and permeates the air when the breeze blows through. The same holds true for carpeting and rugs. Draperies should be dry-cleaned or washed, and mini-blinds, vertical blinds, and roller shades should be taken down, brushed off, and scrubbed. Carpeting and rugs can be steam cleaned, which you could do with a home model, but you might fare better with a professional who has hotter water and stronger cleaning solvents.Improve Ventilation with a HEPA Air Purification SystemMost home heating and cooling systems don't necessarily add good, clean air into the house. Instead, they merely recirculate the stale air which is often filled with allergens. If sinuses are constantly bothering you, we suggest that you Buy and a High-Efficiency Particulate Arrestance (HEPA) air purifier to c. At the very least, this should be used in the most popular areas, though a home-wide filter would be best. HEPA filters will remove particles and contaminants from the air, making it cleaner and safer to breathe. Likewise, use the exhaust fan above your stove when cooking as it removes odors and contaminants from the immediate area and keeps them from permeating the rest of the house.

Service Your AC System

With the end of spring and the start of hot Arizona days, you'll want to start up the air conditioner. Before you do, however, you would be wise to get a qualified professional, SRP or APC to service your HVAC system. They will inspect your furnace and A/C to make sure everything is working correctly, replace the filters, fix any problems, and replace worn-out or broken parts. Many times, these companies offer maintenance programs as well. Not only will this ensure your unit operates efficiently, but it will also help to keep your indoor air fresh and allergen-free.

Install Air Filters

Another way to eliminate allergens and other contaminants in the air is with an air filter. They come in five basic forms:

  • Mechanical filters force air through the screen, where they separate and trap contaminants.
  • Electronic filters attract irritants and deposit them onto a metal plate.
  • Hybrid filters use a combination of the two previous techniques.
  • Gas phase filters remove odors and non-particulates such as paint fumes.
  • Ozone generators do not remove allergens, but they supposedly eliminate odors when appropriately used.

Your home is your castle, but it's not comforting when allergies have you sniffling and rubbing your eyes all day, or you're having difficulty breathing. If indoor air quality is at the root of your misery, then now is the time to take action. These five simple spring-cleaning techniques will not only improve the quality of the air, but they'll also help keep you and your family healthier.

Please contact us today for a SAME DAY an appointment if this advice is not helping you enough. Our Scottsdale Wellness Center is convenient and just a quick phone call away. We will do on-site allergy testing in order to diagnose your problem allergens, and then treat them with a customized plan!