The Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing Guide to Fall Allergy Season

Can you get allergies in the fall? You most certainly can! Allergens can strike at any moment. While spring allergies may be more common, allergies in the fall are a significant problem for millions of people. Here, Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing will help you understand and fight fall allergies. Sadly, the solution isn’t as simple as avoiding the pollen-filled world outside your home. Fall allergy season finds several ways into your home. By identifying what causes fall allergies, you can fully understand the best ways to reduce them. 

How to Identify Fall Allergy Symptoms 

Identifying your fall allergy symptoms can be trickier than it may 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 medical professional is always the most reliable source for identifying allergies. However, some common symptoms of fall allergies and sinusitis include: 

• Itchy or watery eyes 
• Sneezing 
• Coughing 

• Headache 
• Fatigue or tiredness 

What Causes Fall Allergies? 

When investigating what causes fall allergies in your specific case, there are many potential culprits. Dust mites and allergens can accumulate in countless places within your home. Most of these sources of seasonal fall allergies can be controlled with professional air quality services like those offered by Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing. However, the most common 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 soft furniture 
• Debris buildup in your 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 involves using a whole-house dehumidifier, cleaning ducts and preventing your home from getting too warm. Second, you must ventilate your space, ensuring that airborne debris does not accumulate in stagnant air. Third, you might consider installing an air cleaner to remove allergens from the air. Learn more about each solution below. 

Control Your Home’s Humidity with a Whole-House Dehumidifier 

When the air in your home strays from the EPA’s suggested humidity levels (30%-40% humidity), it creates a petri dish for mold, dust mites and countless other sources of allergic reactions. With a whole-house dehumidifier, you have precise control over the humidity levels in your entire home. These state-of-the-art dehumidifiers allow you to control the humidity in your home within 1% of the desired levels, eliminating the conditions for excess mold, dust mites, fungi, bacteria and other microbes. 

Keep Your Air Clean With Ultraviolet Germicidal Lights 

Ultraviolet germicidal lights purify the air in your home before it circulates through your home. As the air leaves your HVAC unit and enters your ducts, it passes through an intense ultraviolet light that kills contaminants before they can spread. This system answers the question, “What is the best air purifier for allergies?” This system will quickly make your air noticeably cleaner. UV lights have been shown to eliminate half of the concentrated bioaerosols within their first 45 minutes of use. 

Eliminate Contaminants with HEPA Air Filters 

When you want a top-of-the-line air filter, you want a HEPA air filter that can remove 99.97% of the contaminants in the air. Due to their unique design, these filters pull the most common causes of fall allergies from their air, like ragweed, pollen and dust mites. HEPA air filters also remove contaminants such as: 

• Tobacco smoke 
• Dirt particles 
• Pollen 

• Ragweed 
• Dust mites 
• Various odors and airborne chemicals 

Regularly Clean Your HVAC System’s Ducts 

Traditionally, HVAC systems have not always done a great job of removing contaminants from the air. This means that debris often circulates through ductwork for decades. Over time, some of that debris will accumulate within your ductwork. This is why many people suggest Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing and our duct cleaning services before turning on the heat for the first time in the fall. Doing so can eliminate one of the most significant sources of airborne contaminants within your home. 

The 10 Cities in the United States With the Worst Fall Allergy Seasons 

Often, your location has a major impact on the severity of your fall allergy symptoms. Fall allergies are known to be worse in some areas of the country than others. For instance, ragweed (one of the most widespread sources of allergy-inducing pollen) is more common in the country’s eastern region as well as in the Midwest. However, allergies can be a significant problem no matter where you live. Here are the 10 toughest cities for those with seasonal allergies. 

Getting Help From Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing 

As you have now seen, the best solution for dust mites and fall allergies involves an all-out assault on the pollutants and contaminants in the air within your home. Each home will require a specialized approach suited for that home’s particular makeup and layout. With air quality specialists all across the United States, Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing can help in almost any part of the country. If you want one of our indoor air quality experts to help make your air as allergen-free as possible, call or fill out a contact form today.