As the cold weather approaches, so does the dreaded flu season. There are good medical methods you can use to prepare for flu season, as well as simple precautions like getting into the habit of regularly washing your hands. But you may not be aware of the ways you can improve your home’s indoor air quality to make it easier to get through flu season without getting sick.
Yes, indoor air quality can play a big part in whether you and other people in your household catch the flu, the cold, or other illnesses during the fall and winter. Once germs and viruses get into your house, they’ll start to circulate through the ventilation system, making is easier for them to spread from person to person. Fresh air can help—but you often don’t want to open your home to outdoor air when it’s cold.
Fortunately, we offer indoor air quality solutions that can help you enjoy a much healthier home this coming flu season.
UV Air Purifiers
Air purifiers in general are a good idea for improving your indoor air quality. The most common type of air purifier uses ionization to draw unwanted particles out of the air. However, the air purifiers may not be able to target the smallest pollutants—and those include the microbes, viruses, and germs that can make you and your family sick.
The best air purifier to use for a healthier flu season is a UV air purifier. This type of purifier uses ultraviolet lights to send out UV rays in the ventilation system. The UV radiation kills or renders inert the cells of bacteria, germs, viruses, and other organic pollutants—without creating any chemical residue. UV air purifiers are not harmful to people or pets and are easy to maintain. Our technicians can install these purifiers in the right spots in your HVAC system where they’ll do the most good.
We Recommend Keeping Your Ducts Clean
If a few years have passed since you last arranged to have your home’s ducts cleaned—or you’ve never had them cleaned—we strongly advise you schedule it before flu season starts. First, it’s good for your heating system, since it improves general energy efficiency. But clean ducts also make it harder for unhealthy particles to build up in the ventilation system and keep circulating. We recommend duct cleaning every 3 to 5 years, and you do need professionals to handle this job.
Reminder: Change the HVAC Air Filter Regularly
The air filter in your HVAC system isn’t an indoor air quality device—but it can have a negative effect on your household during flu season if it isn’t changed routinely. To avoid harmful, unhealthy particles from building up in the filter, we advise changing it every month during flu season. (You’ll enjoy lower heating bills as well!)
There are other options as well when it comes to boosting your air quality, not only for the coming flu season, but throughout the year. Talk to our experts today and they’ll help you with making your house a healthy house.