Air pollution isn’t just car exhaust or factory smoke. Dust mites, mold spores, pollen, and pet dander in the air inside your home can cause problems if your family has allergies or asthma. Using HEPA filters can trap these pollutants and may help bring allergy relief. How HEPA Filters Work Spring Allergies: A Q&A with Our Top Expert It’s spring-time again and all across the country, people with allergies are sniffling, sneezing, and generally suffering from a surfeit of spring allergies. This year, Michael W. Smith, MD, chief medical editor at WebMD, sat down with nationally acclaimed allergist Jordan S. Josephson, MD, to get the latest news on causes, treatments, and home remedies for allergic reactions. Josephson, author of the recently published Sinus Relief Now: The Groundbreaking 5-Step Program for Sinus, Allergy, and Asthma... Read the Spring Allergies: A Q&A with Our Top Expert article > > HEPA stands for high-efficiency particulate air. A HEPA filter is a type of mechanical air filter;

it works by forcing air through a fine mesh that traps harmful particles such as pollen, pet dander, dust mites, and tobacco smoke. Selecting and Using an Air Filter You can find HEPA filters in most air purifiers. These are small, portable units that may work for a single room. If you are considering buying a HEPA filter, find out how much air that the filter can clean. Be sure you buy one that is big enough for the room where you plan to use it. The best room for a unit is the one where you spend most of your time -- usually your bedroom. You can find HEPA filters in most home improvement stores or online marketplaces. Some vacuum cleaners have HEPA filters that trap more dust from their exhaust. HEPA-equipped vacuums throw less dirt and fewer microscopic dust mites back into the room as you vacuum. Some people say allergy symptoms improve after using these vacuums. How Much Can HEPA Filters Help? Using a HEPA filter in your home can remove most airborne particles that might make allergies worse.

But the particles suspended in air are not the only ones in your home. There are far more in your rugs, bedding, and drapes, and resting on countertops and tabletops. So it's important to keep these areas clean. It's also important, when possible, to get rid of the source of allergens and irritants. best mold air purifierFor example, the only effective way to keep tobacco smoke out of your home is to not smoke.air purifiers for smoke and odour removal These filters can be part of a plan to remove irritating particles from your home. air conditioner compressor coil cleanerOther parts of that strategy should be to:If you had allergies last year, there's a pretty good chance you will this year as well. Using top air purifiers for allergies will help, but a more holistic approach will help even more with your allergies.

Top air purifiers will protect you in your home, school or office, but you must be prepared to face the pollen and pollution outside. Employing air purifiers for the relief of allergies is just one aspect of getting ready for a new season. The coming of spring is often a mixed blessing to the vast numbers of Americans who suffer from allergies. We're glad that the hard, cold days of winter are over, but have little enthusiasm for the coming months of sneezing, wheezing, and difficulty breathing. Most people procrastinate about preparing for the season so that it hits them with a vengeance and only then do they remember. The following are tips on preparing your life, your home, and your work environment for allergy season. It is especially important not to procrastinate if you have children with allergies, since they have weaker immune systems and ignoring the symptoms could turn into worsen conditions over time like allergic asthma. Get started right away, even if there is snow on the ground.

Make an appointment with your doctor or allergist. Evaluate the efficacy of the medicines you took last allergy season and with your doctor, plan a strategy for this season. Get your written Allergy Plan together.  Many insurance companies (such as Anthem) provide calendars with month to month tips on addressing these problems. Get your insurance provider and your doctor to send you everything they have. A phone call is easy to make. It's especially important that you understand your doctor's strategy for long term control and for quick relief.Integrate these into your Action Plan. Don't let an attack ruin your vacation, simply because you forgot to plan for it and to take the appropriate medications with you. Be ready by the first day of spring. Get into gear and get your home into shape as an oasis for breathing. There is a reason why people “spring clean.” Homes are closed up during the winter months and homes fill with dirt and dust mites in all those warm, wooly clothes and bedding.

Pet dander, allergens, smoke, soot, ash from fireplaces and woodstoves, mold, chemicals from cleaning products used, and microorganism particulates build up. Get your home, furnishings, bedding, carpets, upholstery, and clothes cleaned up. Do the same with your office if at all possible. Once you've cleaned up your act, keep it clean with room air purifiers in key areas of your house. The bedroom is undoubtedly a key area. Many allergy sufferers experience attacks in the middle of the night, because the human respiratory system relaxes during sleep. Things you can handle during the day, will be more traumatic at night. You'll want to keep a good room air purifier running in your bedroom 24 hours a day with the door closed if at all possible. You want to sleep in the cleanest room possible. It will help you survive the daytime. Decide where else in the house you or your family spends a majority of time, and select a room air purifier large enough to adequately cover that space.

If you do lots of cooking or grilling on an indoor grill, you may want an air purifier for your kitchen that can absorb chemicals. With the plethora of allergy air purifiers on the market, which one do you choose? It helps to know specifically what you're allergic to. However, if you're not sure, but just know that you can't breathe easily during certain parts of the year, the vast majority of allergy doctors recommend HEPA allergy air purifiers. HEPA filters were developed by NASA years ago for use in the space shuttle. HEPA means High Energy Particulate Arresting. That means it sucks up the pollens and stuff flying around in the air. Many companies sell HEPA air purifiers, some much better in quality than others. The best have 5-10 year warranties on the machines themselves. HEPA filters have to be changed. When you throw one out you'll be amazed at how despicable they are and you'll be very glad you didn't breathe all that stuff. Other types of allergy air purifiers use ionization or electro-static technology to absorb the particulate.

These can be very helpful, but HEPA is still the best way to go to get the vast majority of pollutants and toxins out of your air. Stay away from air purifiers based on ozone generation technology. Consumer Reports says "ozone generators should not be where people are." Grammatically incorrect, but still a good warning. It means they are fine for industry, but not for people. It is also enormously helpful if air purifiers you choose have enough activated carbon or other media to absorb gases and odors. Volatile organic compounds (VOC's), paint fumes, formaldehyde outgassing, ozone, and other such unpleasantries can be absorbed in addition to the particulates such as pollen. Purchase enough good quality air purifiers to clean your home and mark your calendar so that you change the filters when they need to be changed. Some air purifiers indicate when a filter needs to be changed and some don't. It really doesn't matter. You can easily mark your calendar with the manufacturer's recommendations, and simply change the filters when it's time.

Some air purifier brands like Alen, offer a filter reminder on the actual air purifier. It's also helpful to get the filters in your air conditioning system changed before allergy season starts. If you don't know where to get the filters, simply get the manufacturer's name off of the system and call them up. They'll either carry the filters themselves or let you know where to purchase them. Many systems have electrostatic filters like Alen and Blueair, which can help keep the dust down. However, they don't absorb all the pollens and other pollutants so you still need room air purifiers in key areas of your house. Just because you have allergies, don't banish yourself from the beautiful outdoors entirely. However, remaining indoors between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. are a good idea, because that's when pollen is usually emitted. Stay inside on very windy days too. Wash your hair and clothing when you've spent a lot of time outdoors, and wear a mask to mow the lawn. Or better yet, pay some teenager who is desperate for spending money to do it.