Why HEPA Filters and Air Filtration Systems Are a Smart Choice for Reducing Pollen Indoors

For those with allergies, asthma, or another respiratory condition, pollen can be frustrating to deal with. It can aggravate symptoms like coughing, eye irritation, sinus inflammation and more. It’s particularly annoying when pollen gets indoors and makes your own home less comfortable. Homeowners deserve relief, so where can they get it?

Indoor air quality equipment can help. These types of HVAC systems are designed with more-powerful air filtration capable of trapping or deactivating a wide range of airborne contaminants, including pollen. A HEPA filter or filtration system could help people struggling with pollen breathe a little easier. Your local HVAC pros at A-1 United Heating, Air & Electrical want you to enjoy the comforts of your home, so let’s figure out how HEPA filters can help relieve your pollen problem.

What Is a HEPA Filter? How Do HEPA Filters Work?

HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air and demonstrates the filter’s effectiveness at eliminating airborne particles. This type of mechanical air filter works by forcing air through a fine mesh that traps dust, pollen, pet dander and many other contaminants. You’ll often find HEPA filters in hospitals and other healthcare settings to remove contaminants from the air and improve indoor air quality. Many vacuum cleaners and home air purifiers also use HEPA filters to trap particles.

HEPA filters are extremely effective at capturing small particles; in fact, they can remove up to 99.97% of particles that are 0.3 microns in diameter or larger. This makes them much more effective than standard air filters, which only trap around 20% of these same particles. Many quality filtration systems include a HEPA filter as part of their design, making them an effective option for managing pollen.

Many models of HEPA filters come with a pre-filter. This secondary component is designed to trap larger particles like dust before it reaches the HEPA filter, prolonging its lifespan. You’ll want to exchange this pre-filter every 2-3 weeks to keep the HEPA filter in the best shape.

How Air Filtration Eliminates Pollen

In and around Omaha, pollen can be a year-round problem. In fact, we deal with pollen from February to mid-October. Tree pollen is usually dispersed in March through June, while grass pollen typically comes with the warmer weather of June through August. Finally, weed pollen can be found from August to October, or whenever there’s a hard freeze.

So how can an air filtration system tackle such a long pollen season? Whole-house models are installed in your ductwork and capture particles as they pass through. By trapping the pollen in the filter’s fine mesh, the particles can’t circulate through your duct work. That means that once you clean or exchange the filter, all that pollen goes away for good. It’s important to remember that no filter will work effectively forever; most HEPA filters should be replaced every year.

Benefits of Installing Whole-House Filtration Systems

Fewer airborne contaminants: a whole-home air filtration system will stop dust, mold spores, VOCs, pet dander, pollen and many other pollutants. These particles can cause a wide range of health problems or just irritate your throat and sinuses.

Milder respiratory symptoms: while some pollen may still slip past, fewer particles means fewer allergy symptoms like watery eyes or sneezing. There’s nothing like the peace of mind that comes with knowing less tree, grass and weed pollen is following you home.

Higher HVAC system efficiency: with a smaller number of airborne particles in your HVAC system, it can sometimes improve how effective the system is. What’s more, cutting down on the debris reaching your HVAC system may prevent a problem from happening in the future.

Cut down on house cleaning: pollen and other pollutants can spread to every room of the house that’s connected to your ductwork, which means more dusting and vacuuming. A filtration system helps cut down on the amount of cleaning you need to do, and staying on top of cleaning regardless can help keep your HEPA filter in great shape.