Easy Ways to Defeat Your Dust Mite Allergy

Posted on August 9, 2021 by - Blog

Easy Ways to Defeat Your Dust Mite Allergy

If you are an allergy sufferer, this post is for you. After reading this blog, you’ll understand: 

  • What causes dust mite allergies
  • How to eliminate dust mites

Most people have heard of dust mites, even if they don’t know much about them. If you have these pests in your home, you won’t see bite marks like bed bugs cause, as they are not parasites. These tiny bugs don’t bite or inflict physical harm on humans at all. The reason these little creatures are undesirable is due to the allergens they produce. 

What Are Dust Mites?

Dust mites are tiny pests that are invisible to the naked eye and can be seen only under a microscope. They aren’t technically even an insect, though they look like tiny, faceless cockroaches. These creatures that look like something from a sci-fi film feed on things that are plentiful in every home, like skin cells and pet dander in pillows, carpets, rugs, couches, and bedding. The presence of dust mites doesn’t mean you don’t have a clean house, as they are in virtually every home. 

How Do They Trigger Allergies?

Like how pet allergies aren’t caused by the pet, the mites themselves don’t actually trigger dust mite allergies. Instead, they shed a protein in their skin and waste that people react to. They build up on soft surfaces and can be released into the air when you walk on floor coverings, make your bed, fluff pillows, or even sit down hard onto a soft chair or couch. Essentially everything you do daily can and will stir up the waste from the dust mites, sending it into the air and your respiratory system.

‍What Are the Symptoms of Dust Mite Allergy?

If you have seasonal allergies, you know when to expect symptoms to begin and abate. Unfortunately, with dust mite allergies, there is no season. Not only do you get year-round allergic reactions, but they can also trigger asthma symptoms. Sufferers may notice more symptoms when lying in bed or on soft surfaces infested with dust mites. 

Dust mite allergies exhibit the following symptoms:

  • Asthma attacks
  • Coughing
  • Itchy eyes
  • Nasal congestion
  • Runny nose
  • Sneezing
  • Wheezing

How To Remove Dust Mites

The first step in removing dust mites is to get rid of things in your home that invite dust mites to move in and get comfortable. Making the environment inhospitable to their survival is key. However, you have to understand that it is virtually impossible to rid a home of all dust mites. Your goal should be to reduce the number of dust mites to create a healthier home. 

Steps you can take to minimize the occurrence of dust mites and reduce allergy symptoms include:

  • Clean bedding, including the mattress, more often.
  • Dust and vacuum frequently.
  • Remove carpeting and switch to hard surfaces, if possible.
  • Use a dehumidifier.
  • Invest in at least a MERV 8 pleated air filter.

Keep Your Home’s Air Clean With Premium Air Filters Delivered on Your Schedule

Keeping your home’s air cleaner by eliminating dust mites is not that difficult when you know what to do. Even getting the right type of air filters is as easy as ordering from Crockett Filter Club. You can have premium air filters delivered right to your doorstep anywhere in the U.S. on your preferred schedule. Contact us today to get started eliminating your dust mite allergies.

Featured Image: Crevis/Shutterstock

5 Ways That Dirty Air Filters Can Ruin Your Life

Posted on May 11, 2021 by - Blog, Filters

As you read about the ways dirty air filters can ruin your life, you’ll begin to understand:

  • Dirty air filters are a problem for both your health and your financial situation.
  • Regularly changing your air filters is easy and something you can do for a low cost.

If you’ve ever seen a dirty air filter, you know how gross they can get. The look alone is enough to make you want to change the filter, but there are some other key facts that should make you want to change them as well. Did you know your clogged air filter could be ruining your life? Check it out!

1. Reducing Air Flow and Increasing Utility Bills

Air is supposed to be pushed through your filters to collect the dirt, dust, and dander circulating through your home. When your air filters are clogged, it’s going to be harder for the air to push its way through. With reduced airflow, your blower fan is going to work overtime trying to get the air to comply. This is only going to increase your utility bills as the system works harder than it needs to.

2. Decreasing Efficiency

To really get the most out of your HVAC system, you want it to run as efficiently as possible. With clogged air filters, that is not going to happen. While struggling to push air through your home, the system is going to work too hard. As the system works hard to get your home the air you demand, you’re not going to get that strong airflow you’re used to. Energy bills will continue to rise as this happens, so you’re going to get a lot less comfortable air for the amount of money you pay each month.

3. Worsening Air Quality

A full filter will not get rid of all the allergens in your air. Instead, anything that has been collected in the filter is going to be recirculated into your home. The air quality will then become worsened, often becoming more polluted than the air outside. If anyone in your family already has a health condition affected by air quality, those conditions could become worse. Those who do not have current conditions could end up suffering from asthma and other similar diseases. Your pets can be affected as well, and they’ll have no way to tell you they’re experiencing symptoms.

4. Growing Mold and Mildew

When the air filter is clogged or blocked, the evaporator coil could end up covered in dirt. This often results in the area growing mold, mildew, and other types of bacteria. Microorganisms are then able to multiply, causing your home to become a petri dish for dangerous mold and disease-causing bacteria.

5. Failing an Entire System

Whether as a result of all the dirty air filter symptoms previously mentioned, or even just one or two, your entire HVAC system could fail when something as simple as changing the filter is ignored. Air filters cost mere dollars, but replacing an entire system is going to cost you up into the hundreds or thousands of dollars. Regular filter replacement could prevent this issue in its entirety.

Contact Us to Order Air Filters Today

You can see the damage that dirty air filters can cause. Although you’re no HVAC repairman, you can still change the filters regularly to ensure your system is in as good of shape as possible. Contact Crockett Filter Club today at 844-401-4604, and let’s discuss the type of system you have and how often you should change the filters for optimum results.

Featured Image: Noel V. Baebler/Shutterstock

8 Ways You’re Making Your Seasonal Allergies Worse

Posted on March 3, 2021 by - Blog

8 Ways You’re Making Your Seasonal Allergies Worse

  • Seasonal allergies can be miserable, but with a change to your daily routine and your HVAC filter, you can relieve those symptoms.
  • Relieving the symptoms of seasonal allergies is just one of the benefits of regularly changing your HVAC filters.

The changing seasons are often pleasant to experience, but it can be miserable for someone with seasonal allergies. Whether you feel the suffering has been getting worse each year, or it has just gotten worse as the season progressed this year, there are eight ways you may be making your seasonal allergies worse.

Neglecting Your Filters

Some homeowners use the wrong HVAC filters, and others fail to change their filters regularly. Either way, neglecting your filters is one of the worst things you can do for allergies. Your air filters are only going to filter the air in your home and rid it of pollen if you have installed them correctly and changed them often. Crockett Filter Club allows you the convenience of filter delivery, so you have a regular reminder and are always sure to get the right air filters for allergies.

Forgetting To Take Medication

You have to be consistent with allergy medication if you want it to work correctly. Some individuals fail to pick up their prescriptions on time, and others wait too long before the next dose. If you think about this before allergy season, you can be one step ahead of those miserable symptoms.

Having Poor Hygiene

Most people don’t realize it, but having poor hygiene could result in increased allergy symptoms. When you are out and about during the day, your hair and clothing collect pollen and other allergens. If you don’t change your clothes and shower at night, you’re taking the allergens to bed with you, so throw in a load of laundry and take a quick shower before you settle in for the night.

Avoiding Cleaning Your Home

If you’re worried your allergies are going to flare up when you start cleaning, you might want to put it off, but that could make the problem worse. If you need to, hire a cleaning service to deep clean your home a few times a year. Aside from regular dusting, the cleaning professionals can make sure other allergens, such as pet dander and dust mites, are out of your home. If you’re not worried about a flare-up, you can handle the cleaning on your own, but just be sure it gets done.

Drying Your Laundry on a Line

It’s great to have that fresh air-dried smell that comes with line-dried clothes, but hanging your laundry to dry outdoors is going to encourage a collection of pollen and other allergens. Using your dryer indoors would be a better solution during allergy season.

Opening the Windows

Understandably, you want fresh air in your home, but opening the windows during spring is only going to invite the pollen in. Instead of opening the windows, make sure your filters are clean and turn on the air conditioner.

Spending Time Outdoors

Everyone loves spending time outside during fresh spring days, but allergies can ruin all the fun. Especially on windy days, there are going to be unseen allergens flying all over the place. If you want to spend time outdoors, consider waiting until after a cleansing rain, so there’s no pollen in the air, and always wait until the wind has let up.

Sleeping With Pets

You’re not the only one with allergens collecting in your hair and on your clothing. Your pets are carrying it in their fur and hair as well. If you let your furry family members sleep in your bed, you’re going to be exposed to those allergens all night long. Keep your pets washed and groomed, and try to keep them in their own spaces, which should rarely be your bed.

Order Your Filters Today

As you can see, most of these negative habits are easy to change. If you’re ready to make a change with things to help with allergies, contact Crockett Filter Club today at 844-401-4604 to order your filters.

How to Improve your Home’s Indoor Air Quality

Posted on February 5, 2021 by - Blog

How To Improve Your Home’s Indoor Air Quality

  • Poor indoor air quality comes from a variety of places like cleaning supplies, paint, mildew, pollen, and smoke, but there are some easy measures to combat the problem.
  • Regularly changing out your HVAC filters is one way to ensure the air quality in your home is as good as possible.

How To Improve Your Home’s Indoor Air Quality

The air quality inside your home needs to be as good as possible if you want to keep everyone healthy. While you may know there are plenty of allergens outside, you should also know there are plenty indoors as well. Improving indoor air quality takes into account understanding the causes, what the negative effects are and what you can do to make an improvement.

What Causes Poor Indoor Air Quality?

You may be able to walk around and see things that are causing your indoor air quality to be poor, but not everything is that obvious. Some things that you may not realize cause poor indoor air quality are:

  • Smoke – We’re not just talking about cigarette smoke, although that is a huge contributing factor. We’re also talking about smoke from cooking on the stovetop, spilling something in the oven, burning a candle, or having a fire in the fireplace.
  • Cleaning Supplies – There are probably chemicals in the cleaning supplies you use throughout your home. As soon as you give that cleaner a spray, it starts to circulate.
  • Mildew – When mold and mildew form in your home, they let off microscopic spores that circulate in the air in your home. This may be due to a natural disaster, a leaky pipe, or just having a high level of humidity in the home.
  • Pollen – Although pollen grows outdoors, it gets tracked in on just about everything, such as your shoes, your pets, and your hair. If you ever leave the doors or windows open for fresh air, the pollen can fly in that way as well.

What Are Some Negative Effects of Poor Indoor Air Quality?

Each of the causes of poor indoor air quality poses a different negative effect, though most are related to the health of your family. Individuals with respiratory illnesses may suffer greatly because the pollen, smoke, chemicals, and spores could get into their lungs. Different types of volatile organic compounds found in paint and some chemical cleaners have been linked to cancer. You also run the risk of a weakened immune system and becoming more susceptible to the common cold, flu, and other viruses.

What Can I Do To Improve Indoor Air Quality?

Improving indoor air quality isn’t hard, but you need to know how to get it done properly. The following are some suggestions:

  1. Regularly change your HVAC filters. An HVAC filter collects all of the dangerous debris that circulates throughout your home. If you don’t change your filters on a regular basis, you run the risk of releasing the pollen, chemicals, and other allergens back into your home.
  2. Look for VOC-free products. When you shop for cleaning products, air fresheners, paint, floor polish, dishwashing detergent, and other “chemical” products, search for items that are VOC-free.
  3. Strive to keep the pollen outside. While it’s great for your health to spend time outdoors, do your best to keep the pollen out there when you and your family move indoors. Take your shoes off at the door, wipe your pets down when they reenter the house, wear a hat when you’re out and take it off when coming back in, and keep your windows shut.

Ordering HVAC Filters

As you can see, there are some simple solutions to keeping your indoor air quality as good as possible. Contact Crockett Filter Club at 1-844-401-4604 to order your HVAC filters today.

Featured Image: Kira_Yan / Shutterstock

What Type of Air Filter Do I Need to Order?

Posted on January 4, 2021 by - Blog, Filters

What Type of Air Filter Do I Need to Order?

When you set out to purchase air filters for your home HVAC system, you’ll realize there are a lot of air filter types out there. With different levels of quality and filtration, it could get confusing knowing which to choose. At Crockett Filter Club, we’ve done all the research for you, making it easy to get the high-quality filters you need, right when you need them.

Understanding a MERV Rating As you consider different types of air filters, you’ll notice they have something called a MERV rating. “Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value” is the technical term, but it basically refers to how effective the air filter is. These ratings begin at one and go through 16. The higher the rating, the better it is at preventing contaminants from passing through it. Most of the filters made for homes will rate between 7 and 12, while hospitals and other sanitary settings will have filters with a 13 to 16 MERV rating.

Considering Three Grades

Crockett Filter Club only offers the best types of air filters for your home. All homes are full of dust, bacteria, pollen, mold, and other allergens. Even if you clean on a regular basis, there are contaminants floating around that come in on your pets, your food, visitors’ feet, and just through the air. Depending on the severity of health issues and allergies the people of your household have, there’s a filter that can help. Our three grades are:

  • Good – Our good filters have a MERV 8 rating. They filter out dust, pollen, mold, dust mites, and pet dander. If you have a rental, our good filters are of perfect quality. They’re also effective for families with common allergies and one or two non-shedding pets.
  • Better – Our better filters have a MERV 11 rating. They filter everything the good filters do, in addition to more severe allergens. If you have multiple pets or more serious allergies, these filters will work just fine.
  • Best – Our best filters have a MERV 13 rating. They filter everything our better filters do, with the addition of smoke, smog, and cooking oil smoke. Some of the microscopic filters that unknowingly affect allergy sufferers or those with respiratory problems are also filtered out. If someone who lives in your home has asthma or severe allergies or smokes in the home, these filters would be most effective.

Keep in mind, the better the grade, the denser the filter, and the less airflow it will allow. Because of this, the best grade will need to be changed more frequently than the better, and the better more frequently than the good.

Choosing a Delivery Frequency

After you know the grade you’re going with, you’ll need to determine the frequency at which to have your filters delivered. Crockett Filter Club delivers once per month, once every other month, or once every three months. Your schedule will depend on a few things:

  • How many people are living in your home? The more people, the more dust and debris that will be created and sent through the filters. You might need more frequent delivery.
  • How good are you at remembering to change the filters? If you have three filters delivered every three months, you can change them each month if you remember. If you don’t have a good memory or haven’t put changing filters at the top of your maintenance list, it might be a good reminder to have the filters delivered each month.
  • What additional contaminants are in your home? If you have multiple pets and someone who smokes lives in the home, you’d probably go with the best filters, but you should also have them delivered more frequently because of their dense makeup. Any additional contaminants you add mean added frequency.

Getting Your Order Placed

Once you know which air filter types you want and how often you want them delivered, it’ll be time to place your order. Contact Crockett Filter Club today to start giving your home the love it needs with our convenient air filter subscription service.

Image Credit: Serenethos/Shutterstock