So I am riding in my car and a voice comes on the radio…..no, its not the lyrics to The Rolling Stone’s Satisfaction. It was someone giving really bad advice about windows and allergies.
Bad Advice on Windows and Allergies
This really happened this past Saturday. I was listening to a home improvement show on the radio. The topic was controlling moisture and humidity in the home. The “guest” was selling a device to increase air circulation (a really good thing) but she was making me crazy with the bad information she was giving in an attempt to sell her product.
She talked about opening your windows on clear, dry, windy days to increase circulation and air out your home. She stressed that this was important if you have allergies. WRONG! Windows and allergies only work well together when the windows are closed and keeping pollen out!
If you have allergies to pollen, the last thing you want to do is throw your windows open on clear, dry days. Especially windy days. That is when pollen counts are the highest.
Good Advice on Windows and Allergies
If you really want to get the fresh air inside and keep the pollen out, you can use special air screens to repel the pollen. The Micro-Air Screens are perfect. They allow you to open the window 8″ (enough to get some air circulation) and the special screen media will repel the dust and pollen in the air. Because the screen repels the particles instead of filtering them, the media does not get clogged. You can read more at Air Screens for Pollen.
The Allergy Store
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I moved from Baltimore to Santa Fe about 7 years ago. Allergies out here are a little dffeirent so its hard to say what you will be sensitive to. My wife who never had allergies gets crippled for a week or so every year when the Juniper first blooms. Depending on who you believe,the Juniper that blooms here is the same as the Cedar that blooms in TX and AZ, regardless there does seem to be a great deal of overlap in sensitivites.In town there are much fewer trees and the building canyons tend to blow pollen out in fairly short order but there is still an uncomfortable period (late Feb thru early Mar) but not as bad as out here where we live surrounded by acres of Junipers. I had mild hayfever/ragweed issues in MD but out here I get a little Juniper discomfort but get hit hard by Chamisa a little pale green bush with yellow flowers, I actually call it ragweed of the desert’ and it is no fun. It can bloom almost anytime it isn’t below freezing and peaks after spring melt and our monsoon season (Sept) with 2 pretty large blooms a year.All in all the air quality is significantly better for me (I have chronic weak lungs from lots of childhood pneumonia), but my allergies are worse and my wife’s are a LOT worse. Another issue here is UV, we are close to 7000 feet depending on where you live (a couple hundred feet in either direction) and that surprises a lot of people when they visit.