The term “allergy season” is an elastic one, since it differs depending on climate and how soon the warm conditions of summer arrive. For most parts of the country—including here in the Willamette Valley—allergy season begins in late February as the weather turns warmer and lasts until early summer when the heat starts to climb. For people who suffer from allergies to pollens, this can be a miserable period of sneezing, congestion, coughing, eye irritation, and other health problems. Even people without allergies can find the pollen count in the air an annoyance. To add to the trouble, this is also a time of year when the mold count rises, placing yet another allergy trigger into the air.
The Causes of Allergies in Allergy Season
When the weather starts to turn warmer at the end of February, plants begin to pollinate. If there was a significant amount of rain over the winter (and in Oregon there always is), fast plant growth will contribute to the pollen count and increases the growth of molds. Allergies are at their worst during this season when the days are warm and nights still cool: pollen thrives under these conditions, when the warmth is high enough for pollination but there are also large amounts of moisture in the air. When the wind picks up, pollen can spread everywhere, including inside homes.
How to Deal with Allergy Season
You can’t run from airborne allergens, and you really can’t hide from them either: they will find their way into your house. But you can manage allergy problems during this time of year with medication and allergy shots. Another powerful tool is lowering the pollen and mold count in your home with indoor air quality installations from professionals. That’s where our specialists can help you: we are currently ranked #1 for grass allergies in the Willamette Valley.
Electronic Air Purifiers
There are a number of different options for cleaning allergens from your household air. One of the most effective IAQ tools is the electronic air cleaner. Standard air filters are often helpful, but the most powerful of these filters—the ones that block allergens from circulating throughout a house—are often poor fits for residential HVAC systems. The HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter is the best-known of these allergy-stopping filters. But the weave of fibers in a HEPA filter is so tight that it can restrict airflow inside a home’s ventilation system.
This is why pairing a filter with an electronic air cleaner is often the best route for controlling allergies in a house. You can have a lower-powered filter in place, one that won’t affect airflow, and add an electronic filter that uses ionization to draw out the particles from the air that slip through the filter mesh. Electronic air cleaners help control more than allergens: they also stop odor molecules, smoke, and chemicals.
If you’d like to schedule the installation of an electronic air cleaner in Scio, OR, contact our indoor air quality specialists. They’ll assist you with finding the right combination of air filters and air cleaners to help you enjoy a sniffle-free spring!
Trust to Midway Mechanical Inc. for your heating and cooling in the Willamette Valley. We’ve been family owned for more than 40 years.
