How To Keep Pollen Out of Your HVAC System

Spring can bring plenty of sunny days and warm temperatures to the Charlotte area, but as the flowers, trees, and grasses start to grow, they can fill the air with pollen. For those who suffer from allergies, this can mean discomfort anytime they step outside, and in order to keep your home a refuge from pollen and other allergens, it’s important to keep it out of your HVAC system. In this blog, our HVAC experts at Parks Heating Cooling Plumbing & Electrical provide tips to help you manage allergens in your home and improve your indoor air quality overall.

Common Types of Pollen & Allergens in the Charlotte Area

The three most common sources of pollen and springtime allergens in the Charlotte area are grass, ragweed, and trees. Hardwood trees like ash, birch, oak, maple, and sycamore are more likely to trigger allergy symptoms than other types of trees. In addition to these seasonal allergens, there are plenty of indoor air contaminants that can affect allergy sufferers as well, including:

• Household dust
• Mold spores
• Dust mites
• Pet dander
• VOCs, smoke, and fumes

By taking steps to reduce the amount of pollen in your home, you can remove many of these other contaminants and greatly improve your indoor air quality.

How To Use Your HVAC System To Reduce Allergy Symptoms

While in operation, your air conditioning system constantly recirculates the air inside your home. This makes it the ideal tool to help keep your indoor air as clean as possible. Here are a few steps that can help to remove airborne contaminants and ease the symptoms of allergies:

• Regularly change air filters: During peak allergy season, it’s a good idea to check your HVAC air filters every month and clean or replace them anytime they look dirty. Standard fiberglass air filters last about three months, while pleated or high-efficiency filters can last around six months.
• Use HEPA air filters: Upgrade to HEPA filters, if possible. HEPA filters remove over 99.7% of airborne particles, but not all HVAC systems are compatible with them. Consult an HVAC professional to learn if a HEPA filter upgrade is possible for your Charlotte home.
• Install an air purifier: To ensure your home’s air is as clean as possible, consider installing a whole-home air purifier. Mounted in your air ducts, these systems eliminate virtually all allergens and airborne particles.
• Schedule professional duct cleaning: Contaminants like dust, pollen, and mold spores can collect in your air ducts as your HVAC system is used. To ensure these are not recirculated throughout your home, schedule professional duct cleaning services every three to five years.
• Choose the best temperatures for comfort: If the temperatures in your home are too high or too low, they can allow things like mold or dust mites to thrive. The Carolina Asthma Center recommends setting your thermostat at 68-72 degrees to keep dust mites and mold at bay.
• Maintain healthy humidity levels: If your home is too humid, dust mites and mold can reproduce quickly, and if it is too dry, your skin can become irritated, and viruses may spread more easily. To maintain healthy humidity levels of 30% to 50%, consider adding a humidifier and dehumidifier to your home.
• Service your HVAC system often: Regular maintenance can help your HVAC system to last longer, keep energy costs as low as possible, and improve indoor air quality. Both the heating and air conditioning systems should be serviced once a year.

Choose Parks for HVAC Services in the Carolinas

Do you have family members who suffer from allergies, asthma, or other breathing conditions? Trust our HVAC experts at Parks Heating Cooling Plumbing & Electrical to help keep your indoor air as clean as possible. We offer a full line of services that can improve your indoor air quality, from HVAC maintenance and repairs to air purifier installations, duct cleaning, whole-home humidity control, and more.

Our company is family-owned, and we have been serving the Charlotte metro area for over 50 years. We are here to help with your most challenging home comfort needs, and we treat our customers like family with friendly, experienced technicians, same-day service, upfront pricing, excellent specials, and no overtime charges.

Call 704-596-8200 today to schedule indoor air quality services or HVAC maintenance in Charlotte, Huntersville, Mooresville, Davidson, or the surrounding areas.