As the Los Angeles springtime goes into full force, many So Cal residents who suffer from allergies and asthma begin to worry.
Even though spring brings beautiful green hills and flowers, it also brings sneezing, coughing, wheezing, and difficulty breathing.
If you are looking for allergy relief in Los Angeles or the surrounding cities, perhaps a new or well-maintained HVAC system is just the ticket. While you can’t do much to manage the outdoors, you can remove indoor allergens.
In this article, we will look at the best options for allergy relief with your HVAC system, the best types of air filter for allergies, and how regular HVAC service can improve your indoor air quality.
Common Allergens in Southern California
Southern California has an incredibly diverse microclimate, and for this reason, it can also have a year-round allergy season. In places like Los Angeles, common allergens include:
- Pollen: Various types of trees (oak, pine, olive, sycamore, walnut), grasses (Bermuda, ryegrass), and weeds (ragweed, sagebrush, Russian thistle) are the primary causes of allergens throughout different seasons. The warmth of Southern California also means some plants pollinate nearly year-round.
- Mold Spores: Coastal humidity can promote mold growth, both indoors and outdoors.
- Dust Mites: These almost invisible critters thrive in humid environments.
- Pollution and Smog: Urban areas like Los Angeles and surrounding cities can have higher levels of airborne pollutants that can exacerbate allergies.
As the pollen count rises and your allergies start acting up, it’s a perfect time to properly prepare your HVAC system to improve indoor air quality.
After all, your home’s indoor air quality is essential to healthy living and makes life much easier for the allergy sufferer.
How Does a HVAC System Help Allergies?
Your HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) system is your most powerful ally in the fight against allergies and asthma by improving indoor air quality.
By filtering particles, controlling humidity, ventilating the space, and in some cases, neutralizing microbes, a home HVAC system, with the right features and regular maintenance, can significantly reduce the presence of allergens in your home.
Here are the main ways that an HVAC system will help with allergies:
Filtering Airborne Allergens
HVAC Air Filters are the primary way an AC system helps to reduce allergies. As air circulates through the HVAC system, it passes through a filter.
Standard HVAC filters capture larger particles like dust and lint, but to focus on allergy relief, you can choose a more advanced air filter.
High-MERV Filters: Pleated filters with a higher MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) rating (typically MERV 11-17) are designed to trap smaller airborne particles such as pollen, pet dander, mold spores, and dust mite debris.
HEPA Filters: High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters are even more effective, capable of capturing 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 microns. While full HEPA filtration can restrict airflow in some standard HVAC systems, many whole-home air purification systems that integrate with HVAC units use HEPA or near-HEPA grade filters.
Whole-Home Air Purifiers: These are an additional device that can be added to your HVAC system and often use a combination of advanced media filters and other technologies to remove a broader range of allergens and pollutants from the entire house as air circulates.
Controlling Humidity Levels
A lot of the coastal areas in Southern California (such as Long Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Marina Del Rey, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, etc) are prime locations for additional humidity and the risk of mold.
To reduce mold growth, it is essential to keep excess humidity to a minimum. Your home air conditioner will naturally dehumidify the air inside your home as it cools.
For more persistent humidity issues, a whole-home dehumidifier can be integrated into the HVAC system to maintain optimal humidity levels, inhibiting mold growth.
Controlling Dust Mites
Dust mites also thrive in humid environments like the coastal areas of Southern California. By keeping your home humidity levels in check (ideally between 30% and 50%), an HVAC system can help reduce dust mite populations and reduce indoor allergies.
Preventing Dryness
On the opposite end from excess humidity, very dry air (often a problem during heating season) can irritate nasal passages and worsen allergy symptoms. HVAC systems equipped with whole-house humidifiers add necessary moisture to the air, providing relief.
Regular AC Maintenance Helps Reduce Allergies
Along with all these additional HVAC options, the simple act of regular maintenance on your HVAC system can increase the fresh air inside your home, and help reduce poor indoor air quality.
When you hire an HVAC contractor in Los Angeles (or the surrounding areas), they will thoroughly clean and tune up your AC system.
Working with an AC company, they can do a complete HVAC system maintenance twice a year to ensure your system is clean and running efficiently, and has effective air filtration.
Staying ahead of allergy season can be a challenge, but if your AC system is clean and the HVAC filter is changed at least twice a year, you are guaranteed to gain some allergy relief.
Clean Dust and Debris from Vents and Registers
Professional HVAC maintenance always involves ensuring that vents and registers are dust-free, as they can become clogged with dirt and other small particles. Not only will this help remove any unwanted matter that could cause potential health issues, but it also helps extend the life of your HVAC system.
Ensure Your HVAC System is Running Efficiently
Routine HVAC maintenance and tune-up services can help ensure that your system is running efficiently and effectively to improve the air quality in your home.
Cleaning and servicing your AC system can help limit airborne particles caused by pollen or pet dander, giving you peace of mind during allergy season. A professional AC maintenance visit will also replace all filters, clean the air vents, and test your home for indoor air quality.
What HVAC System is The Best for Allergies?
While we don’t specify models of air conditioners as being ‘better’ than others, we believe that the “best” HVAC system for allergies in Southern California is simply a modern, well-maintained central forced air system.
Ideally, your air conditioner should be equipped with a high-MERV filter (rated 17 or above) (and or HEPA-level filtration if compatible), a whole-home air purifier, UV germicidal lights, and a system for humidity control.
If you are suffering from allergies or asthma in your Los Angeles home, then consult with our team of reliable, experienced HVAC technicians. Our HVAC technician team can assess your home’s specific needs, run an indoor air quality test, and look at local allergen triggers.
Once our AC technicians better understand your needs, we can recommend the most suitable AC system and IAQ accessories to help you breathe easier all year round.
Contact Reliable Home Comfort Today for an in-home air quality test and consultation for HVAC allergy relief.
