5 Common Allergy Triggers and How to Deal With Them

When was the last time you thought about the air you’re breathing inside your home in Boynton Beach, Florida? The quality of the air in your home goes a long way toward determining your quality of life, particularly if you suffer from allergies or asthma. Therefore, it’s important you do all you can to improve it. Read on to discover cost-efficient methods of combating common allergy triggers.

Dust Mites

Dust mites, the microscopic creatures that reside in dust, leave behind a residue in their droppings and cast-off skin that worsens allergies. Exposure to dust mites can cause eye, nose and throat irritations. It can also cause asthma, particularly in children. Dust mites thrive in areas of the home with high humidity. They also thrive in places where there’s animal or human dander, such as bed linens, carpets, mattresses, and upholstered furniture.

To deal with dust mites, encase pillows and mattresses in washable zippered covers. And remember to launder bed linens often.

To prevent dust mites from breeding, keep humidity levels inside your home below 50 percent with a whole-home dehumidifier. If you have pets in the home, groom and bathe them regularly. Vacuum weekly, and mop wood floors each day.

Animal Dander

Tiny flakes of feathers, hair, and skin of domestic animals can trigger allergies and cause irritations. To minimize exposure to pet dander, keep pets off upholstered furniture. Dust and vacuum weekly with a vacuum containing a HEPA filter. Regularly clean your HVAC system’s air filters to remove captured pet hair. As a result, your furry friends won’t trigger your allergy symptoms.

Cockroaches

Cockroach droppings and the skin they shed can cause allergic reactions and irritations. Cockroach allergens are particularly prevalent in urban areas and throughout portions of the southern United States. Like dust mites, cockroaches thrive in humid conditions. To control them:

• Use dehumidifiers.
• Repair leaky faucets that can cause increased moisture.
• Wash dishes immediately after a meal.
• Don’t leave food scraps sitting in garbage cans.
• Store food in airtight containers.
• Wipe crumbs and spills on kitchen floors and countertops immediately.

Biological Growth

The same humid conditions that can encourage dust mites and cockroaches to thrive can also promote the development of biological growth. This growth can occur on carpets, insulation, drywall, paint and any other places moisture is present. Biological growth can produce allergens that can trigger a runny nose, cough, congestion and asthma in people with weak immune systems.

All biological growth problems should be handled carefully by environmental remediation professionals. State-of-the-art air purifiers can help you trap and kill biological growth in the conditioned air inside your home.

Pollen

Produced in the anthers of flowering plants or the male cones of coniferous plants, pollen is a fine powder-like substance. One grain of pollen is generally smaller than the width of an average human hair. Pollen can be responsible for any number of allergic reactions, including:

• Eye allergies (conjunctivitis)
• Rashes (dermatitis)
• Allergic rhinitis or "hay fever"

During pollen season, avoid keeping windows and doors open. Dust and vacuum your home regularly using a vacuum cleaner filter capable of capturing particles up to at least 10 microns. To avoid problems with stale air containing allergens inside your home, consider products such as energy recovery ventilators (ERVs). These devices mount directly to your home’s HVAC system to introduce fresh air and remove stale air from inside your living spaces.

With any discussion of allergy triggers in the home, we can’t stress enough the importance of making sure your HVAC system is operating properly. Regular maintenance service inspections of your system can prevent costly and uncomfortable system breakdowns. They can also ensure your HVAC system can properly filter common allergy triggers from the air inside your home. As a result, you’ll breathe fresher air and live a healthier life inside your home.

At Preferred Air Conditioning & Mechanical, LLC, we’re your indoor air quality specialists. To learn more about the products that allow you to maintain a cost-efficient and comfortable home, call us at 772-905-3358.

Image provided by Bigstock