Parker County Today PCT January 2019 | Page 90

our opinions: ADVICE FROM AN EXPERT In The Comfort Zone Happy New Year — Allergy Time Is Here Again By BRETT HOBSON CEO Comfort Experts A 88 s I write this, Pollen.com a website that tracks allergens in the air, lists Fort Worth, Texas as one of the worst cities in the country for allergy sufferers. There are many issues to worry about if you suffer from seasonal allergies; grass, hay, pollen, and mountain cedar are just a few of the allergens that trigger symptoms for many of us when we go outside. But the air quality in your home shouldn’t be something that you should have to think about, given the improvements that are currently on the market that can help improve the air inside your home. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) refers to the air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants. If you understand and can control the number of common pollutants in your home, you can reduce your risk of indoor health concerns. The results of indoor pollutants are things like itchy eyes, sneezing, colds and even viruses like the flu in the short term. Long term exposure to indoor air pollutants can be serious and cause some respiratory diseases, heart disease and even forms of cancer, which can be debilitating or even fatal. The EPA says the most effective ways to improve your IAQ are to reduce or remove the sources of pollutants and to ventilate with clean outdoor air. In addition, research shows that filtration can be an effective supplement to source control and ventilation. Portable air cleaners and HVAC filters can reduce indoor air pollution; however, they cannot remove all pollutants from the air. Portable indoor air cleaners are effective but only in cleaning the air in a single room. Furnace and HVAC system filters are suggested to reduce pollutants in an entire home and work whenever the system is operating, which is about 25 percent of the time. The air filters on furnaces and HVAC are designed to filter particles, so if you decide to upgrade to a higher efficiency filter, choose one with a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) 13 rating. Check your system, it may not accom- modate a MERV 13 filter, so choose the highest rating filter your system fan and filter slot can accommodate. If you have questions about filters, ask your HVAC technician about the best quality filter for your system. Brett Hobson Once you’ve chosen the highest rated filter that your system can use, your job isn’t over. The filter needs to be changed based on manufacturers recommendations which is usually every 60 to 90 days. If you notice that your filter is really dirty when changing it on schedule, you may want to change them even more often, especially during periods where the pollen counts are high. Window unit air condi- tioners and wall mounted systems are not designed to filter air, they are just for temperature control, so if either of these is the kind of system you have, you might want to consider a portable air cleaning system. In addition to upgrading your filters, you may want to consider duct cleaning to clean the various heating and cooling system components of your system. This service cleans the supply and return air ducts, registers, grilles and diffusers, heat exchangers heating and cooling coils, drip pans, fan motors and housing and the air handling unit itself. These parts may become contaminated with dust, pollen or other debris, as well as mold when there is moisture pres- ent. Like any other service you hire for your home, make sure the provider you choose will be cleaning all of the components using tools specially designed to remove these allergens in ducts and then vacuum them out using a high- powered vacuum cleaner. The company may also suggest the use of chemical biocides that are designed to kill mold or other microbiological components. Ask your service provider if mold is present and have them show you where in your system it is occurring before taking on the additional expense. Keeping the air quality in your home as clean and aller- gen free as possible will help you keep the sneezing at bay this winter. That is until spring comes and everything is in bloom again, and it will be time for all that pollen in the air. Starting off the year with a clean HVAC system will last you through this allergy season and the next one. Recently, Comfort Experts was awarded a letter of support at a Pentagon ceremony attended by members of the management team. The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) was signed because of the company’s support of military reserve and National Guard members. The first statement of support was signed in December of 1972 by General Motors. Less than two dozen employers were honored the day Comfort Experts signed its letter of support to our country’s military. The statement of support signifies the company’s continuing efforts to be model employers.