As we approach the allergy season here in Seattle, I feel it is important to touch on some products and strategies you can use in your home to reduce your allergy symptoms.

Performing a Google search on "how to reduce allergy symptoms" yields some telling results. Almost all of the pages that come up in the top search results talk extensively about what you can do to yourself to reduce your allergy symptoms. Many of them offer good advice, but either gloss over or entirely ignore the things you can do in your home that attack the cause of our allergies, the allergens themselves! I find it amazing how many articles recommend over-the-counter or prescription medications that could effect your health in unseen, possibly negative ways, yet make very little mention of strategies you can implement in your home to reduce or even eliminate allergens altogether.

Here are a couple of products that attack allergens, reducing or virtually eliminating them from your home environment:

UV Air Purifier

Many allergy symptoms are caused by volatile organic compounds (VOC's). These compounds include substances that contain carbon, such as pet dander, pollen, tobacco smoke, and other more nefarious characters, such as viruses, mold, air borne bacteria, and other infestations.  A UV air purifier breaks down these compounds, rendering them inert and removing their harmful effects from your indoor air. We recommend the Source 1 Hybrid UV Air Purifier, which uses a photocatalytic process and UV light energy to break down VOC's.  It also neutralizes odors and reduces dangerous gases, such as carbon monoxide, from your indoor environment.  

To learn more about the Source 1 Hybrid UV Air Purifier, visit our Indoor Air Quality Page or download the PDF product brochure.

Electronic Air Cleaner

An even more comprehensive solution is to have an electronic air cleaner installed in your central heating system. We recommend the Trane CleanEffects as the best electronic air cleaner available. It combines  filtration with a patented field charger to remove up to 99.98% of particles down to .1 micron in size (1,000 times smaller than a human hair). The air in your home will feel cleaner than you ever imagined it could! Among the particles the CleanEffects can remove are spores, mold, pollen, pet dander, dirt, and dust. In fact, you will likely have to dust inside your home up to 50% less often. A Trane CleanEffects could help you finally win the war against allergens in your home!

Compared to other electronic air cleaners, the CleanEffects is low maintenance, as it just needs to be cleaned out every couple of months by either vacuuming or rinsing the filter and collection cells. It also runs extremely quiet and produces very little ozone.

To learn more about the Trane CleanEffects, visit our Indoor Air Quality Page or download the PDF product brochure.