Spring in Mankato should mean enjoying warmer weather and enjoying more time outside. Instead, for many of us, it means struggling with pollen allergies.

If you suffer from allergies, you know how miserable that pollen in your home can make you feel. Constant sneezing, itchy and watery eyes, sinus headaches and coughing can wear you down. If you have asthma, pollen can also cause wheezing, chest tightness and breathing challenges.

Your home should be a refuge. Unfortunately, pollen does not stay outdoors. It follows you indoors, creating poor indoor air quality in your Mankato home —triggering the allergy symptoms that make you miserable.

The good news is, there are proven ways to get rid of indoor pollen problems once and for all. A one-two punch of pollen season prep and professional indoor air quality solutions can reduce your allergy problems and make itchy eyes and sneezing in the spring a thing of the past.

Why Pollen Is So Bad in Mankato, Minnesota

Pollen released from trees, grass and weeds is a major spring problem in Mankato. How does this pollen affect indoor air quality?

It finds its way into your home and builds up in carpets, furniture, bedding and air ducts. Once inside, pollen can move in the air through an unfiltered HVAC system. As it circulates, it can cause constant allergy flare-ups.

How Pollen Sneaks In Your Home

Homeowners are often shocked to learn just how much pollen is in their home. It makes its way through open windows and doors, hitches a ride on your pets and even can be pulled in by a poorly filtered HVAC system. Even if you shut your windows and doors, pollen still can find ways into your home. You can carry it indoors on your shoes and clothing. Poorly sealed doors and windows even let pollen in.

Once inside, pollen circulates through your Mankato home. Understanding how to how to reduce pollen in homes means preventing pollen from entering your home whenever possible and then removing it from circulation if it does.

DIY Pollen Reduction Tips That Make A Difference

  • Change your HVAC filters regularly. Clean filters capture pollen and allergens from the air circulating throughout your home.
  • Make sure your windows are closed on high pollen count days. Open windows allow large amounts of pollen indoors.
  • Wash your hair and change clothes after spending time outdoors. Pollen sticks to your hair, skin and clothing, and you can accidentally spread that pollen onto your pillows, bedding and furniture
  • Use a vacuum that has a HEPA filter. Vacuums that use HEPA filters help remove tiny pollen particles trapped in carpets and furniture.
  • Use doormats and take off shoes. Shoes transport pollen, dirt and other debris throughout your home.
  • Regularly bathe pets. Pets track pollen indoors on their fur, which they can then spread onto your bedding, carpets and furniture.

Upgrade Your HVAC System for Healthy Home Air

Your HVAC system be an excellent tool to improve your home’s the air quality in your home.These professional, whole-home indoor air quality solutions minimize allergens, improve airflow and make your home feel better throughout allergy season.

High-Efficiency Air Filters

High-efficiency HVAC filters help trap particles like pollen, dust and pet dander from the air in your home. You can review filters using MERV ratings, which are numbers that indicate how effectively a filter captures airborne particles. Filters with higher MERV ratings can trap smaller particles. Many homeowners looking for the best air filters for allergies choose high-efficiency air filters because they minimize pollen and other airborne contaminants.

Whole-Home Air Purifiers

Whole-home air filtration systems work with your HVAC system to clean the air in your whole home. Unlike portable air purifiers that only treat indoor air quality issues in one room, whole-home air purification systems continuously eliminate microscopic particles like pollen, dust and pet dander as air moves through your ductwork. This creates a whole-home solution to your allergy issues.

Humidity Control

Higher spring humidity in Mankato can also trigger your allergies by creating conditions ripe for mold and mildew growth. For best results, your home's humidity should be between 30-50 percent. Whole-home humidity control systems work with your HVAC system to control moisture levels throughout your house. In humid months, they reduce excess moisture like a dehumidifier. In winter, they restore moisture back into dry air. Unlike portable dehumidifiers that only work in one room, whole-home systems are a way toimprove indoor air quality in the spring in your entire home.

UV Air Purification

UV air purification systems are an effective way to reduce mold spores, bacteria and certain viruses moving through your HVAC system. Unlike filters that only trap particles like pollen or pet dander, UV systems also use ultraviolet light to neutralize biological contaminants.

When comparing an air purifier vs air filter for HVAC systems, remember that filters are for particles whiles purifiers have even more advanced technology to clean pollutants you might not be able to see. Combined with filtration and humidity control, UV purification can help create cleaner, healthier air inside your home.

Signs Your Home Needs Indoor Air Quality Improvements

There’s a good chance your home has poor IAQ if you regularly experience allergy symptoms indoors like sneezing, coughing, congestion, headaches or red, itchy eyes. Other indicators of poor indoor air quality in your Mankato home include dust buildup even after you clean, musty odors, uneven airflow and rooms that feel closed-in or humid. If your symptoms disappear when you leave the house, that’s a major sign your indoor air may be the root cause.

Professional IAQ Services That Solve Pollen Problems

DIY solutions can help minimize pollen indoors, but alone they don’t completely solve the problem. If you suffer from spring pollen allergies, even small amounts of pollen can make you feel awful. That is where expert HVAC air quality solutions can help. An indoor air quality assessment identifies allergens and pollutants in your home so an HVAC professional can determine filtration or purification solutions to finally solve your pollen problem.

Other ways are available to clean other allergens from your air, such as duct cleaning. For allergies like pollen, dust and pet dander, cleaning debris out of your home’s air ducts can be a major benefit. Seasonal HVAC maintenance also helps your system remove contaminants efficiently and also helps extend the life of your system.

For many Mankato area residents, professional services like filtration, purification, duct cleaning and humidity control finally offer the spring allergies home solutions they’ve been waiting for.

Get Ahead of Pollen Season in Mankato

Prevention and professional solutions are the best way to eliminate spring allergies. You can help by using DIY tips to limit pollen indoors. To fully solve your pollen problem, work with an HVAC professional like the team at Northern Comfort Inc. We have professional knowledge and high-quality tools to boost your indoor air quality, so you can breathe clean, pollen-free air all spring.

We also can keep levels in from turning into a problem in the first place with professional pollen season prep in Mankato. Schedule an IAQ consultation online or call 507-387-6596 today to get started with Northern Comfort Inc.