February is peak season for germs and bacteria, the flu hits hardest at this time of year. Thankfully, there are steps to keep to your home safer and prevent it from spreading even if you have someone that has become ill already. The virus that causes cold and flu are airborne, and your HVAC plays a key role in whether you become ill yourself – or stay healthy.
Moving Air allows your filters to do their job
Running your system, hot or cold doesn’t matter as much as actually having it operate, creates movement of air and allows the filtration system to work as intended. When the air in your home stays still for too long, airborne viruses stick around and that increases your chances of becoming infected.
This same concept is one of the reasons subways are so prone to causing the spread of infection. The lack of moving air allows infectious viruses to be deposited and easily picked up by casual contact.
Cold weather drives us inside and for longer periods of time. While that isn’t a bad thing on its own, please be mindful that to keep your environment healthy, you need to circulate the air you are breathing.
Whole House Humidifiers
Dry air lets flu and cold virus run unchecked. Moisture not only makes the environment more pleasant and helps with overall heating costs, but it also dramatically reduces how contagious a virus is. See our article last month on whole house humidifiers, they can bring a lot of benefit to your life. Not only can they stop flu viruses from spreading, but they can also treat the symptoms if you have already caught the flu and are suffering.
Sore throat, congestion? Whole house humidifiers help ease these symptoms dramatically. And they do it effortlessly, so you can stay tucked in bed and recover that much easier.
A Warm Home is Good for the Body
Your body’s natural defenses are strengthened when the home is warm and it is not having to spend energy keeping the body at a warmer temperature. When you come in from the cold, a warm home temperature can help prevent a cold from setting in.
Invest in Air Filtration
Dry, recycled air is more prone to airborne germs. During the middle of winter, it is not practical to open up the windows and let fresh air in. It is these times that great air filtration becomes so important. The most effective filter types come with a High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter. Doctors and allergists prefer these as they are the most effective air purification tools available. They are essentially mats of randomly arranged fiberglass fibers, somewhere between 0.5 and 2.0 micrometers. Many HVAC systems meet the requirements of hospital air filtration systems, but they require the filters to be replaced on a timely schedule to work as effectively as possible.
When you’re ready to replace your air conditioning unit, contact Gentry Air Conditioning!
