Tag Archives: humidifier

Allergy Season in Mobile Benefits From Indoor Air Cleaners

Keith Air ConditioningAllergy symptoms are far from being an outdoor problem. In most cases, outdoor air is actually cleaner than indoor air. You’re 1,000 times more likely to inhale indoor pollutants than outdoor emissions. If allergy season is effecting you inside your home, an air cleaner can help improve your indoor air quality.

Signs of Indoor Allergies

Before you can effectively treat your symptoms, it’s important to make sure they’re coming from indoor allergies. Indoor allergy symptoms include irritated eyes and nasal drainage, among others, and lingering symptoms can last for several weeks.

If you have yellow or green nasal drainage and your symptoms last less than two weeks, you’re probably dealing with a cold and not allergies.

Adjusting Your Environment

If you’re not careful, your home could provide allergy triggers with the ideal environment. Dust mites prefer rooms that are 70 degrees or warmer and with a humidity above 40 percent. Running your air conditioner during the spring and summer can help you maintain the proper comfort levels. A programmable thermostat makes it easier to monitor and maintain low humidity and moderate temperatures.

Installing an Air Cleaner

Air cleaners are available as standalone units, but one of the easiest and more efficient ways to incorporate an air cleaner into your home is to add HEPA filters for your HVAC system. A high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter captures at least 99.97 percent of the particles that pass through it, provided they’re at least 0.3 microns in diameter.

Be sure to talk to your HVAC professional for help exploring the right filtration options for your home’s heating and cooling system. HEPA filtration can block airflow in some HVAC systems that don’t have the capacity to handle their density.

Learn more about filtration and air cleaner options available from the HVAC experts at Keith Air Conditioning, Inc. or contact us today at 251-476-3610 to schedule an appointment!

Humidifiers Are Key To Better Indoor Air Quality

Keith Air Conditioning, Inc. Humidifier and Ventilation ExpertsA healthy home requires clean, fresh indoor air. For Mobile homeowners, this involves more than just changing the HVAC filters regularly and installing an air purifier.

Humidifiers also play a key role in creating high-quality indoor air. Maintaining optimal humidity levels has a beneficial effect on health and can reduce annual heating costs.

You can easily measure indoor humidity with a hygrometer. Also called a humidity meter, this inexpensive gadget can tell you exactly what your indoor humidity level is. You can purchase a hygrometer at any drug store or a supercenter like Walmart. A healthy humidity level should between 35 and 50 percent, but for those living along the Gulf Coast, winter humidity levels are often as low as 5-15 percent.

Because humid air feels warmer than dry air, adding moisture to your living space in winter will give you greater indoor comfort, and you’ll also pay less for heat. When moisture evaporates, air feels colder. During the winter, it’s natural to turn up the thermostat when this happens, thereby increasing energy usage and jacking up utility bills. When you add moisture to the air instead, you’ll feel warmer at a lower temperature, and your energy costs will decrease as a result.

What Does Humidity Have to do With Indoor Air Quality?

Low humidity levels mean dry air. Dry air can be responsible for a variety of physical symptoms such as:

  • Sore throat
  • Itchy, flaking skin
  • Cracked, dry lips and hands
  • Dry nasal passages
  • Sinus problems and sinusitis

How Does Indoor Humidity Improve Air Quality?

Many airborne pollutants such as dust mites thrive in a dry environment. When you add moisture to the air, it gives these contaminants less space in which to circulate.

How Do Indoor Humidity Levels Affect Health?

There are a variety of health benefits that come with proper humidity levels. Here are just a few:

  • Sinuses stay healthier, especially for those with sinusitis and congestion
  • Reduces the potential for nosebleeds
  • Helps those suffering from colds and asthma by lubricating nasal passages
  • Can eliminate snoring caused by a dry throat
  • Helps skin to stay moisturized and reduces dryness on hands and lips
  • Helps nose hairs to trap bacteria and viruses that cause colds and flu
  • Reduces nasal, throat and bronchial irritation
  • Helps to clear up laryngitis
  • Helps those with respiratory problems to breathe easier

Besides keeping your Mobile, AL, home comfortable in winter, reducing energy usage and delivering a variety of health benefits, humidifiers also reduce static electricity and can keep wood surfaces from shrinking, swelling and cracking. To learn more about healthier indoor air, contact the Mobile, AL, air quality experts at Keith Air Conditioning. They’ve been helping homeowners to have greater indoor comfort since 1964, and their air quality testing service can tell you everything you need to know about the state of your indoor air.