Can you suffer from allergies in the fall? You absolutely can! Allergens can appear at any moment. Even though spring allergies may be more widespread, allergies in the fall are a serious problem for millions of people. Here, Orangutan Home Services can help you understand and fight fall allergies. Sadly, the solution isn’t as easy as staying clear of the pollen-filled world outside your home. Fall allergy season finds different ways into your home. By pinpointing what causes fall allergies, you can also identify the best ways to limit them.
How to Identify Fall Allergy Symptoms
Recognizing your fall allergy symptoms can be harder than it can seem. The symptoms of seasonal fall allergies are often subtle and mistaken for a mild cold. Coughing, sneezing and sinusitis are all symptoms that appear in both fall allergies and the common cold. A doctor is always the most reliable source for recognizing allergies. However, several common symptoms of fall allergies and sinusitis include:
- Itchy or watery eyes
- Sneezing
- Coughing
- Headache
- Fatigue or tiredness
What Triggers Fall Allergies?
When figuring out what leads to fall allergies in your specific case, there are various likely culprits. Dust mites and allergens can collect in countless places throughout your home. Most of these sources of seasonal fall allergies can be managed with professional air quality services like those supplied by Orangutan Home Services. That said, the most prevalent sources of indoor fall allergies include:
- Airborne pollen
- Mold
- Dust mites
- Pets
- Wall-to-wall carpet
- Damp areas
- Indoor plants
- Stuffed toys
- Mattresses and other padded furniture
- Debris accumulation within your air ducts
Solutions for Seasonal Fall Allergies
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America says that homeowners with fall allergies should improve their air quality in three ways. First, you should reduce your contact with airborne allergens within your home. This requires using a whole-house dehumidifier, air duct cleaning and stopping your home from getting too hot. Second, you need to ventilate your house, ensuring that airborne debris does not amass in stagnant air. Third, you might think about installing an air cleaner to eliminate allergens from the air. Learn more about each of these solutions below.
Reduce Your Home’s Humidity with a Whole-House Dehumidifier
When the air in your home deviates from the EPA’s ideal humidity levels (30%-40% humidity), it encourages a petri dish for mold, dust mites and numerous other sources of allergic reactions. With a whole-house dehumidifier, you have precise control over the humidity levels in your entire home. These innovative dehumidifiers enable you to control the humidity in your home within 1% of the preferred levels, erasing the conditions for unwanted mold, dust mites, fungi, bacteria and other microbes.
Keep Your Air Healthy With Ultraviolet Germicidal Lights
Ultraviolet germicidal lights deactivate microorganisms in the air in your home before it circulates through your ductwork. As the air exits your HVAC unit and enters your ductwork, it moves through a strong ultraviolet light that deactivates contaminants before they can spread. This system resolves the question, “What is the best air purifier for allergies?” This system will quickly make your air significantly cleaner. UV lights have been shown to remove half of the concentrated bioaerosols within their first 45 minutes of use.
Get Rid of Contaminants with HEPA Air Filters
When you want a high-end air filter, you need a HEPA air filter that can capture 99.97% of the contaminants in the air. Due to their unique design, these filters snatch the most frequent sources of fall allergies from their air, including ragweed, pollen and dust mites. HEPA air filters also eliminate contaminants like:
- Tobacco smoke
- Dirt particles
- Pollen
- Ragweed
- Dust mites
- Various odors and airborne chemicals
Routinely Clean Your HVAC System’s Ductwork
Traditionally, HVAC systems have not always done well with getting rid of impurities from the air. This means that debris routinely circulates through ductwork for decades. Over time, some of that debris will accumulate inside your air ducts. This is why some people suggest Orangutan Home Services and our duct cleaning services before turning on the heat for the first time in the fall. Taking care of this early in the season can resolve one of the most significant sources of airborne contaminants inside your home.
The 10 Cities in the United States With the Most Severe Fall Allergy Seasons
In many cases, your location has a significant impact on the intensity of your fall allergy symptoms. Fall allergies are identified to be more serious in certain areas of the country compared to others. For example, ragweed (one of the most extensive sources of allergy-inducing pollen) is mostly found in the country’s eastern region and in the Midwest. However, allergies can remain a substantial problem no matter where you live. Here are the 10 toughest cities for those dealing with seasonal allergies.
Getting Assistance From Orangutan Home Services
As you have now seen, the ideal strategy for dust mites and fall allergies comprises of an all-out assault on the pollutants and other debris in the air within your home. Each home will enjoy better results with a specialized approach suited for that home’s individual makeup and layout. With air quality experts all over the United States, Orangutan Home Services can offer support in almost any part of the country. If you're looking for one of our indoor air quality pros to help eliminate as many allergens as possible, call or fill out a contact form today.