Glen J., AAA Heating & Air Conditioning Senior Technician

I am going to be remodeling our house soon and thinking about adding a filtration system of some sort to the furnace.  I have heard that there are things that I can do to cut down on allergies but am not entirely certain what those are.  Do you have any ideas? -Frank B., Kent

Well, the answer is twofold here– the short term solutions for cutting down on allergens while you are remodeling and the long term solution for your Indoor Air Quality to keep allergies at bay once the remodeling is finished.  Let’s start with the long term.

There are a lot of different types of products on the market that claim to cut down on allergens but in reality are more hype than substance.  An example would be the single room air cleaners that claim to purify the air.  Unfortunately, their effectiveness has proven to be minimal at best (just read the evaluation in Consumer Reports of the Ionic Breeze and you will see what I mean) and they really aren’t worth the money you will spend on them.  The most effective way of reducing the amount of allergens in your home is to install an Electronic Air Cleaner on your furnace.  A licensed heating and cooling contractor will be able to take a look at your existing system, tell you how the Electronic Air Cleaner (EAC) would fit into it and then give you a price for the EAC, including installation.  They really do work well to relieve the suffering that people with allergies have to go through.  In fact, one of the women who works in our office just had an EAC installed for her parents.  Her mom has chronic asthma and terrible allergies but has experienced a huge increase in the quality of life she has been able to have because of the number of allergens her Electronic Air Cleaner has taken out of the air in their home.

Now on to the short term.  Most people don’t think about their allergies as they are remodeling, but there are many things you can do to prevent them from flaring up while you are working on your house.  The Allergy Consumer Review (www.allergyconsumerreview.com) gives some of the following suggestions:

• Spend as much time out of the house as possible. This means schedule your remodeling for the summer months.
• The bedrooms are the most important rooms in the house. We spend 8 hours a day in there. If they are not being remodeled-have your contractors tape up the doors each day to prevent dust from entering.
• Close down the heating vents in your bedrooms during the day time to prevent dust from getting in the room.
• Use a high quality, completely sealed hepa vacuum on a daily basis to vacuum every inch of all bedrooms. Use a vacuum with on board tools to vacuum walls, crevices, furniture, floors.
• Try to remember to seal off your closets daily so your clothes remain dust free.
• Wear an allergy face mask walking around your house in the day time to avoid the dust.
• If your kitchen was remodeled, wash all your dishes afterward and throw out any “open boxed” foods.
• Doing the remodeling yourself? Wear a mask at all times and make sure your materials are toxic free. The mask is to help you not breathe in dust.
• Have your ducts cleaned after all the remodeling is finished to get rid of the dust and debris that has fallen into them.