No Need for Warm Weather Worries

The birds are chirping, the insects are buzzing, and life is in full bloom. Spring has finally arrived and with it the long-awaited warmer weather. Finally, it is time to put away those overcoats and bring out the sandals. Spring is the season of renewal, but for many people, it is the season of worries. It’s a time when allergy triggers fill the air, and humidity levels rise dramatically. Also, the increase in temperature is enough to making doing everyday activities a sticky sweaty situation. But even though the elements change, there is no need to let this spring-time weather get you down. Prepare your indoor environment now and leave your worries behind. Here are a few things you can do to help get your space ready for the season.

Invest in a Portable Air Conditioner
You may find yourself a bit warmer than you’d like, such as when you settle in for a good night’s sleep. Sometimes a fan just isn’t enough, so a portable air conditioner is the answer. These machines are a highly effective way to either cool a single room or supplement an existing central HVAC system.

There are many models available so you can easily find a unit that will suit your needs. Units vary in cooling capabilities. Each model’s capacity to cool is directly related to the unit's BTU (British Thermal Units) rating per hour—which makes comparing BTUs a great way to start the shopping process. Also, a bonus to having a portable air conditioner is that it not only cools the surrounding air, it also dehumidifies it — keeping the air both cool and comfortably dry. This leads us to our second tip for weathering the effects of the upcoming warm temperatures —dehumidifiers.

Avoid the High Humidity
In many places, as the temperature rises and Spring gets into full swing, the humidity level also increases. Too much moisture in your indoor space can be uncomfortable and unhealthy. The excess moisture allows pollutants to become trapped in the air where they linger indefinitely. It also allows pollutants, such as mold and mildew, to grow. The moisture can also cause a musty smell and cause fabrics and furniture to feel damp. If left unchecked, high humidity can cause condensation to form on windows and cold hard surfaces. Long-term moisture problems can even begin to degrade the foundation and structure of your home.

A dehumidifier is the solution to humidity issues. These machines work by extracting moisture from the air, which is collected in a receptacle, drained through a gravity hose, or pumped out using a condensate pump. These units are easy to set up, use, and maintain.  Dehumidifiers are an excellent defense against many allergies because they eliminate the humid environments that breed bacteria, dust mites, and other harmful agents such as mold—all of which can trigger allergy attacks.  When the moisture level is balanced in your home, these harmful allergen triggers cannot repopulate and survive. This leads us to our third tip, which is especially beneficial for allergy sufferers—cleaning your air with an air purifier.

Be Allergy-Free with an Air Purifier
Springtime can be the best of times—except for the surplus of airborne pollutants in the air. It is the season of pollen. For days on end there is a sea of yellow covering every surface around. Luckily there is a way to combat the pollen in your indoor environment. You can clean your air with an air purifier.

Having an indoor environment where the air is free of pollutants will benefit everyone, especially allergy sufferers. Air purifiers clean the air of dust, dander, pollen, chemicals, and odors. They work by pulling air through a series of filters, which cleans the air by trapping polluted particles, and then the cleaned air is blown out by an electric fan.

Choosing a high-quality air purifier with a HEPA filter is ideal, as these filters are able to trap between 97%-99% of all particles from the air. Air purifiers come in many different makes and models. These machines are constructed of durable, professional-grade material and will provide years of clean, healthy air for you and your family. (For more information on the how to pick an air purifier that best suits your needs read our Air Purifier Buyer’s Guide.

Test Your Environment
Closely monitoring your environment as the weather begins to warm up is a wise way to make sure your home is safe and healthy. Today, it is relatively simple to test your home for pollutants with a testing kit. These kits allow you to take control of your  environment. You simply complete a user-friendly test, send the kit into an expert review panel, and get back accurate, timely, and understandable results.

One of the key benefits of testing is knowing what is present in your indoor environment. Knowledge provides the foundation you need to make more educated decisions about how to address the allergens/pollutants in your home. Testing kits are a one-time, affordable, do-it-yourself approach to ensuring your home is safe and allergen/pollutant free.

Be Aware, Pro-Active, and Prepared
Knowing that warm weather can bring as many changes to your indoor environment as it does to the outdoors will help you stay healthier and happier in the coming months. Warm weather doesn’t have to be worrisome. You need only be aware of the allergen triggers and pollutants that coincide with the rise in temperature. Be pro-active about combating these elements in your home with the right changes and the right products. For more information about allergens and your indoor environment, check out our article Attacking Allergens in Your Home. And lastly, nothing can make more of an impact than being prepared for what may come. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Still Got Questions?
For more information on specific products and ways to improve your indoor environment, review our extensive product listings and other educational materials. Not sure what’s best for you—we can take the guess work out of decision making, contact our product experts toll free at 1 (800) 934-9194. Our goal is to make your indoor environment a healthy one.

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