Attack Your Allergies with Whole-House Air Filtration

If you suffer from allergies or have family members who do, the best way to address the issue is to reduce exposure to the substances that trigger allergic reactions.

This can take several forms, including favoring hardwood floors over carpeting, keeping the house tightly sealed during allergy season, minimizing your exposure to outside pets, replacing (effective) HVAC air filters before they get clogged with dust and debris, and dusting your home regularly.

It’s also important to keep HVAC equipment operating efficiently and effectively, making air conditioning or heater repairs right away when they become necessary.

Yet, it’s the ugly truth that you can do all these things and still suffer from allergies inside your home. If that’s the case, it’s time to consider a whole-house air filtration system. There are a variety of options available, with wide ranges in both quality and technology.

Different Types of Air Filtration

Mechanical filtration. You’re likely familiar with this strategy since it involves the common air filters used in forced-air heating and cooling systems. They use one or more types of filtration media to sift out airborne particulates, including those allergens that are giving you so much trouble.

HVAC filters come in a wide range of effectiveness and efficiency, from the cheap, flat-panel fiberglass filter you can buy at the hardware store for 3 or 4 bucks to a super-efficient HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Arresting) filtration system. Quality in air filters is basically determined by the size of the airborne particulates that a particular filter will remove from the air. The smaller the better for filter efficiency.

HEPA filters can remove 9/10s or more of the particulates in your household air that are larger than 0.3 microns (very tiny). These filters can either be purchased as stand-alone air filtration systems or incorporated into your forced-air HVAC system. In the latter instance, installing a HEPA filter may require modifications to your cooling and heating equipment to counter airflow restrictions that otherwise may occur in the heavy-duty filtration media of a HEPA filter.

Impeded airflow is something to be avoided, since it directly impairs comfort and efficiency, and eventually will increase the risk of costly AC or furnace repairs.

Electronic filtration. These systems employ an electrical charge to attract and neutralize airborne contaminants. While different types and brands of electronic filtration systems work in different ways, experts say the most effective systems use a fan and collection plate, with electrostatic precipitators, or that technology combined with other types.

Less Common Modes of Air Filtration

Gas-phase filters. These systems remove odors and pollutants that aren’t in solid/particulate form, such as gases released by paint, solvents and other chemical solutions, perfume and cooking gas. They aren’t designed to remove allergens, and are intended as a supplement to more conventional air-cleaning systems.

Hybrid filters. They combine aspects of both mechanical and electronic filtration systems.

Ozone generators. These devices produce ozone. Their manufacturers promise that they’ll clean indoor air, but ozone air-cleaning systems have not been endorsed by either the U.S. EPA or the American Lung Association. This is because ozone can harm the lungs in sufficiently high concentrations.

Don’t Forget Natural Ventilation for Air Filtration

One of the best ways to clear the indoor air is to open windows and doors (assuming you have screens) on days when

1. it’s not too hot or cold;
2. it’s not too rainy or humid;
3. the outdoor air is relatively clean and
4. it’s not allergy season.

That may seem like it leaves relatively few opportunities to employ natural ventilation to clean indoor air, but there are more “good days for fresh air” than you think.

Consult With Your Preferred Cincinnati HVAC contractor on the best strategy for cleaning the air in your home, and whether a system can be easily integrated with your heating and cooling system.

A number of Cincinnati suburbs have access to quality HVAC services. So whether you need a heater repair in Loveland or air conditioning installation in Mason, you’re just a phone call away from a durable and affordable HVAC fix.