Have Allergies? Check Your Furnace

Autumn leaves may be falling, and the nights may be getting cooler. And you may be tempted to turn on your furnace. Hold on! When did you last replace its filter? If you are sniffling and sneezing, the cause could be that dirty furnace filter. When you first turn on your furnace, you distribute a lot of mold and mites that have been sitting there all summer. If the forced air system has been dormant before the heating season starts turn the system on and off several times (without the furnace on) while the home is being aired out and then change the filter(s).

One way to cure this problem is to have the heating ducts professionally cleaned if they have never been cleaned before.

If you have a fireplace, it’s also a good idea to check your chimney. It’s probably been at least seven or eight months since you’ve started a fire in your fireplace. In the meantime, animals may have flown or crawled into your chimney and done some damage. Birds may have built a nest there. Leaves or nuts from trees may be piling up. Installing a screen over the chimney opening can prevent many of these problems, and reduce your irritating allergies.

You could also try using HEPA filters, a boon to asthma and allergy sufferers, which effectively remove over 90 percent of fine particles.

And if you have severe allergies and are building a new home, you might want to consider a system that is not forced air.

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