Why A HEPA Air Purifier Is Important In The Winter

Why Indoor Air Quality May Be Just As Bad or Worse in the Winter

While most of us tend to think of the spring as peak allergy season, there are still many year round air quality concerns in our homes.  As we approach the winter months, there are several factors which may negatively effect the air in our homes even more than in the warmer months.  For starters, it is known that the air outside is generally much better than the air in our homes.  A main contributing factor to this is that there is minimal circulation inside our homes and seldom do we flush our homes with fresh outside air.  This is never more true than during the colder months of the year, making winter allergies worse.

In order for our homes to stay well heated during the winter, it is crucial that they are sealed well, minimizing any possible areas where the heat may leak out.  This fact means all the contaminants in our homes are trapped inside, being recirculated and built up over time.  To add to the problem, both people and their pets spend significantly more time indoors when it is cold outside.  This exposes us to the toxins and allergens  in our home for more time,  pushing our bodies and immune systems harder and harder to keep up with the onslaught.

A few other factors that may add to poorer indoor air quality during winter months are the use of furnaces and fireplaces and increased duration and use of gas stoves and burners.  We tend to eat more hot foods and more of the types of foods that typically require extensive cooking (ie- soups, roasts, casseroles, etc). These activities contribute combustion particulates and gases to the air in your home which have been proven to be harmful to humans.

Additionally, I’m sure we have all noticed that cool air is drier air and often dries out both human and pet skin.  Because one of the main ingredients in dust is dead skin cells, this time of year might leave your house collecting much more dead skin than in the warmer months.

Some Ways To Combat Household Dust

So as you can see, while we often forget about the need for a HEPA air purifier in non “allergy” seasons, it remains an important consideration for your home.  I would suggest browsing for purifiers in your price range and getting a Christmas present for the whole family. A good place to start would be the Honeywell 50250, one of the best selling air purifiers on the market. In fact it is on our list of best rated air purifiers under $250 for its affordability and long reputation of quality and consumer satisfaction. Additionally, you can ramp up your frequency of dusting and vacuuming flooring, furniture and other surfaces in the home to prevent these particles from being stirred up and resuspended. Dust mites, another significant source of dust particulates, thrive in high humidity environments. Making sure to maintain a reasonably low humidity can help to make your home more inhospitable and cut back on the amounts of dust that build up in your home.