Air Filtration & Purification News

You've probably been noticing that our allergy count has been on the high side lately. Part of the reason is that the first few weeks in September is when ragweed is multiplying. And children can have a tough time dealing with allergy symptoms during this time of the year. Kids can start to develop some allergies as early as 6 months of age. But it's usually around age 2 that pollen allergies develop. At that time, it's good to get your child tested for allergies if they're showing symptoms *or* if you're an allergy sufferer....

"People who have one parent with allergies, have at least a 30-40 percent chance for a child to also have allergies. While both parents having allergies there's at least a 70 to 80 percent chance per child. So for that family, 2 of their 3 kids would end up with allergies too," Dr. Gary Carpenter, an allergist with Quincy Medical Group said. And if you're stuck working outdoors, it can be especially tough to deal. Dr. Carpenter offers some advice to help you cope with those allergies if you have to be outside.

"If you have to be outdoors, masks are very useful...It comes in different colors and styles. This is the same type of mask one would use in an operating room. T he mask comes with valves which allow you to successfully filter the air," Dr. Carpenter said. And if you're spending your days outside, it's also a good idea to bathe at night. That will get the pollen off your body so you don't sleep with it on your skin.

Understanding the nature of airborne dust mites and how HEPA air filtration can reduce microscopic air particles is a key to managing and even reducing dust allergies in an interior space. Do you still show signs of an allergic reaction even after you dust and clean the house? Then you might have a dust allergy or dust mite allergy that requires closer inspection and greater understanding of your home's interior air filtration system. That's the opinion of Pure Air Systems, an Indianapolis-based provider of HEPA Air Filtration systems.

"Many people who claim to have a house dust allergy are often surprised that their symptoms don't disappear after they give the house a good cleaning," says Pure Air Systems President, Dave Hearn. "That's because the particles in dust that often trigger dust mite allergies are smaller than the eye can see, usually 20 microns or less. And that's why HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Arrestance) air filtration is so important."

From a visual standpoint, anything seen as a film of white, grayish, or dark particles on a lighter surface constitutes dust or dust mites. Lint, dirt, carpet fibers, and dust particles are carried in from outdoors; dust and dust mites are generated by pets, children, people and cleaning products indoors. Hearn stresses that the smaller particles stay airborne even after cleaning, and therefore remain a hazard, for people with a dust allergy.

Larger contaminants like animal dander range in size from less than one to 10 microns in size and often only the smaller dander particles become airborne-these represent a particular problem that HEPA filters are specifically designed to eliminate.

"HEPA Filters are the top of the line when it comes to the highest attainable indoor air quality," Hearn adds. "Genuine HEPA filters are required to remove 99.97% of all airborne contaminants at .3 microns and smaller in the air-a performance that's generally unmatched in non-HEPA equivalent systems."

Hearn points out that it is important to keep heating and cooling system fans in operation to constantly circulate the interior air to allow the air filtration system to do its job, and assist in reducing the small particles that can trigger house dust allergies.