heartosunshine Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 We need to replace the ac/furnace soon & have known this since we moved in 6 years ago. We just got our first quote a couple nights ago and there's some add-ons that I'm not sure are worth the cost. For those of you that suffer from environmental allergies and/or asthma have any of these things made a difference for you? UV light disinfection system - would be added directly to our furnace - $700 extra Humidifier - again, added to our furnace (we live in a very dry climate) - $545 extra Air duct cleaning - don't know cost yet but around $1000 Thanks! Sharon ETA: costs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 We have serious allergies/asthma here, but I can't answer all of your questions. I do have a few thoughts though: check out Allergic Living Magazine's website - they have some good resources on their site. If DH and I were considering this, we'd probably ask our allergist/asthma doc for help and advice. Have you done that? It might be worth a visit, you could be surprised. My SIL had a special system installed, hoping to see it help with nephew/niece's asthma... but their asthma is still severe. I'm not sure why though, maybe she missed another cause and it would be worse without the special system. On the air duct cleaning - definitely ask around. Our allergist is adamant that air duct cleaning can be a scam, and that you have to find an excellent company. Her thought is that it's better to not have it done, than to have a company that's not good do it. Our heat/AC guy doesn't do it for this reason, he's not a specialist, but he has referred us to the only company he feels is good. YMMV. The best thing we've done re: allergies is to buy air filters for each floor. They are each in the $600 range, so not cheap, but well worth the cost. The filters we use are carbon, and run about $300 (that's for 2 packs) every 6 months. Keep us posted on what you do and the results? I'd love to find more options for reducing asthma! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Some people do worse in humidified air. Some do better. My asthma boy has an allergy to outdoor mold, so I like to keep away from moisture. We also live in a dry climate but we never run the humidifier that is attached to the furnace. I recently bought more expensive furnace filters - it's hard to say whether it helps, though that furnace only heats the basement and first floor. We have a separate furnace in the attic for the bedrooms but I don't have access to it - the filters are in the air ducts and I'm not sure how to buy fancy ones for them. I also bought an air filter machine (the cheap kind, like a hundred bucks at Target - can't remember) but it only cleans one room at a time. I don't run it often - I find it is the most effective in the basement, where presumably the air is dirtiest (I can smell the difference after I run the filter). It doesn't seem to make much difference upstairs in the bedrooms. A friend of mine recommends a "giant" filter that can do a whole floor. Expensive (maybe a thousand bucks or two? I can't remember). We haven't tried it. I have wondered about cleaning the ducts but haven't done it for the same reasons you list - not sure whether it's worth it, what company would do a good job, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartosunshine Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 We have serious allergies/asthma here, but I can't answer all of your questions. I do have a few thoughts though: check out Allergic Living Magazine's website - they have some good resources on their site. If DH and I were considering this, we'd probably ask our allergist/asthma doc for help and advice. Have you done that? It might be worth a visit, you could be surprised. My SIL had a special system installed, hoping to see it help with nephew/niece's asthma... but their asthma is still severe. I'm not sure why though, maybe she missed another cause and it would be worse without the special system. On the air duct cleaning - definitely ask around. Our allergist is adamant that air duct cleaning can be a scam, and that you have to find an excellent company. Her thought is that it's better to not have it done, than to have a company that's not good do it. Our heat/AC guy doesn't do it for this reason, he's not a specialist, but he has referred us to the only company he feels is good. YMMV. The best thing we've done re: allergies is to buy air filters for each floor. They are each in the $600 range, so not cheap, but well worth the cost. The filters we use are carbon, and run about $300 (that's for 2 packs) every 6 months. Keep us posted on what you do and the results? I'd love to find more options for reducing asthma! Good luck! Thanks, I check out that website! We have an appt with the doc in 3 weeks so may ask then but I seem to remember a doc telling me before that it's variable. Some people notice a difference & others don't. The company giving the installation quote recommends only one other company for the duct cleaning because there's so many scams. Apparently, they feed a camera into the duct for before and after photos. With my daughter, the doc thinks that the more we can reduce her allergies the better her asthma will be so that's where we focus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartosunshine Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 Some people do worse in humidified air. Some do better. My asthma boy has an allergy to outdoor mold, so I like to keep away from moisture. We also live in a dry climate but we never run the humidifier that is attached to the furnace. I recently bought more expensive furnace filters - it's hard to say whether it helps, though that furnace only heats the basement and first floor. We have a separate furnace in the attic for the bedrooms but I don't have access to it - the filters are in the air ducts and I'm not sure how to buy fancy ones for them. I also bought an air filter machine (the cheap kind, like a hundred bucks at Target - can't remember) but it only cleans one room at a time. I don't run it often - I find it is the most effective in the basement, where presumably the air is dirtiest (I can smell the difference after I run the filter). It doesn't seem to make much difference upstairs in the bedrooms. A friend of mine recommends a "giant" filter that can do a whole floor. Expensive (maybe a thousand bucks or two? I can't remember). We haven't tried it. I have wondered about cleaning the ducts but haven't done it for the same reasons you list - not sure whether it's worth it, what company would do a good job, etc. My daughter has a mold allergy so that's why I'm concerned about adding the humidifier. It's so dry in our house, though, that everyone's getting nosebleeds. We tried the better furnace filters but our current system is so bad, actually out of code, that it restricted air flow too much. That's why I'm thinking that just having a new system would be a great help and we don't really need the add-ons. Idk. Here's the link to the UV light system: Fresh-Aire. It would add $700 to the cost of the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Thanks, I check out that website! We have an appt with the doc in 3 weeks so may ask then but I seem to remember a doc telling me before that it's variable. Some people notice a difference & others don't. The company giving the installation quote recommends only one other company for the duct cleaning because there's so many scams. Apparently, they feed a camera into the duct for before and after photos. With my daughter, the doc thinks that the more we can reduce her allergies the better her asthma will be so that's where we focus. Yes, I think pics are a good idea. I think, though, that our allergist was mostly concerned with how the "stuff" from the ducts is vented out of the house, to be sure it all ends up outside and contained, not in your household air. But I could be wrong. As long as you are comfortable with the company, and think it's good, I can't imagine it making things worse. We've put a fortune into allergy/asthma proofing our home, so I know how hard it is. Have you done all the usual: replacing carpet with hard flooring; window coverings; washing all curtains, linens etc weekly in hot water? There's more we've done, but those are big ones. A huge corner was turned for us when we replaced all of our (new!) mattresses with organic cotton and wool non-outgassing, flame retardant free mattresses. We have weekly house cleaners, and have our dogs groomed every 2 weeks (they bring allergens into the house on the fur, and DS is unfortunately allergic to the dogs as well). We evaluate every new purchase for whether it will outgas (as VOCs seem to exacerbate DS's asthma), and even paint, remodeling projects are subject to the asthma test! It is a lot of work. But it's paid off. Our allergist has been a huge resource for us in figuring out what might help. We just try it all. :) I hope you find something to help. It is so frustrating at times, not knowing what will help the most. It's a gamble, but worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Humidity can be a problem for both dust mites and molds. Is it meant to regulate humidity at a certain level or just humidify? I was not convinced by the UV light benefit for allergens when I researched a couple of years ago. We selected the highest filter level available for our system (just under HEPA) instead. We also run HEPA units in the allergy bedrooms. I have a larger one for the play area too. It really helped in the home we owned before, which had carpet. I don't think it's as necessary here with hard flooring. If you're getting significant dust or similar from your ducts, maybe if it's done well. I don't think there is a lot of data to support strong benefit. I would spend the money to invest in things more likely to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Carbon activated charcoal in the system is your best help per dollar, it is powerful stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Humidity--I've heard the ones that are part of the system will rust out your system. It's EASY to humidify. You can use a humidifier (I recommend moving it from room to room, and not actively running it near your daughter if cool, moist air bothers her asthma). Change/clean the filters, let them dry out between uses, and don't let wet stuff sit around. You can humidify without the humidifier--open up your dishwasher before it dries to let the dishes air dry, or hand wash dishes, letting them sit in the drainer to dry. Air dry some laundry on a rack, or set out a clean but damp (not wet) bath towel somewhere where it will dry and not just mildew. Just doing a couple of these things each day adds a lot of moisture to the air. Nosebleeds--much cheaper and easier to buy nasal rinse bottles and do saline washes. Vent cleaning--we were pretty desperate and thought about doing this at one point. Getting the expensive furnace filters that are for allergens (like from 3M) fixed the problem over a few months. You MUST change them regularly, probably more often than the 3 months, particularly during high pollen season or if you've done household projects that create dust. It might speed up the process to run your furnace fan even when the furnace isn't kicking on--it might push the dirt out more quickly and get the process over with sooner. Proactive: good multivitamin, EXCELLENT fish or krill oil (Shaklee has great stuff, and Nordic Naturals is good), and a probiotic. Totally changed my life with allergies and asthma (so did going gluten free, but that's not something that works for everyone). If I skip those things now, I can tell in a few weeks because the asthma and allergies will flare big time without much warning. I assume you have a good vac with a HEPA filter. Good and expensive aren't the same--we use a Bissell, and those are really inexpensive. You do have to clean the filters (I keep two or more sets of the washable filters, dump the bin regularly (before it's full), replace the HEPA filters, and replace the belts for good performance. If we dump the canister regularly and wash/dry the filters, our $69 sweeper picks up insanely tiny particles of stuff by the boatload. It's a great little cleaner. (We LOVE their carpet cleaner as well.) Dust with microfiber (or really clingy fleece) and rinse your rags outside or in a utility sink so that you don't put the dust back into the air. Clean with natural products and microfiber. I know nothing about the UV light disinfectant thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 We tried the better furnace filters but our current system is so bad, actually out of code, that it restricted air flow too much. That's why I'm thinking that just having a new system would be a great help and we don't really need the add-ons. Idk. There are so many great ideas in this thread, I love watching these threads for new ideas. We are always looking for tips and help with controlling the allergy/asthma. I don't mean to hijack by replying too much, but I just noticed you posted the above, which resonated here. We have a fairly new system (replaced it just a few years ago), so the age isn't an issue here. We were using the hefty filters (the ones for allergy/asthma) and we were changing them every 30 days after reading that that could be helpful (can't remember where we read that now, sorry, I think it was in the Mold Warriors book from a few years ago). We mentioned this to our allergist, who said something about taxing the system unnecessarily without enough added benefit. She suggested we try the less expensive filters, but change them very, very often. She said she's had patients do that with good luck. (Keep in mind, she knows we have our BlueAir filters with carbon filters running on each floor, so she knew we were getting good filtration in that department). Anyway, we tried that, and it seemed to be easier on our system and we didn't notice any change in DS's asthma. So much of this is trial and error, and seeing what works for your kiddo. I just wanted to share the above, based on what you said about the filters taxing your system. If it's too much for your system to run the hefty filters, try changing out the filters more often than recommended, and see if that has a good effect. ETA: we also run our furnace fan constantly, so we have constant filtration happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartosunshine Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 Thank you all for chiming in with your experiences & advice! Spryte - Yes, it does get expensive, doesn't it? No, we don't have wood floors as that would be very costly (especially in addition to the new hvac system). Also, my kids are teens now & I'm not sure how long we'll be in this house once they depart. That's why I'm not sure how much to invest in the add-ons for the hvac system. We've identified other triggers for my dd, such as the live Christmas tree in December & some escalating food allergies. She was also allergic to our dog, but we recently euthanized him (due to advanced disease and his quite old age). We'll not be getting any more pets so maybe that'll make a difference? Good idea to run the furnace fan constantly. Sometimes we do that to help even out the temp in the house but never thought to do that for filtration. sbgrace - We could set the humidity to a certain level but I'm still concerned about the mold. kbutton - I think I need to clean the filter on my vac :blushing:. I'm in the process of switching to homemade cleaning products and am a big fan of the microfiber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 My allergist says no to all three and wants me to keep humidity levels below 40% in the house. We use cheap filters we change monthly. The biggest improvement we saw was removing all carpet from the house. When we removed the carpet, we saw no mold or yuckiness--the carpet was in great shape--but my kid with a ++ mold allergy hasnt had an attack in our house since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Good idea to run the furnace fan constantly. Sometimes we do that to help even out the temp in the house but never thought to do that for filtration. You probably wouldn't have to do it long-term, just until your ducts get cleaner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartosunshine Posted April 16, 2014 Author Share Posted April 16, 2014 Update: We've decided to skip the uv light and the whole house humidifier. Instead, I bought these air purifiers and will continue to do the individual humidifiers as needed. The purifiers are supposed to arrive today so we'll see if they help. We have an appointment next week to finalize the deal for the new HVAC system so it should be installed within the next couple of weeks. We'll live with the new system and purifiers for a while before deciding on the vent cleaning. Thanks for all your input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acadie Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Vent cleaning made a big difference for us. Most companies do a crummy job, so you do need someone good. It's promising that the company uses cameras. Our guy also has a "duct whip" that he runs through to loosen any crud. He removes all the vent covers (some companies just vacuum from the outside) and he charges more than the national chains. I forget, maybe somewhere between 200-300? I agree about removing carpet as one of the biggest improvements in allergies and asthma here. Any chance you could just do the bedroom of the child with the most issues? You probably know that Christmas tree sensitivity can be due to the tree itself or mold. Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Coming in late! I'd skip all three and concentrate on the allergy/asthmatic's bedroom. I would pull the carpet up in that room and install any other type of flooring. I would get a good air filter for that room and run it constantly. Since you no longer have a pet, I would wash the walls of the bedroom down really well. Make sure the mattress, box spring, and pillows are all encased in allergy approved zip close cases. If you can do the same for the family room, it would also be great; but the bedroom can be considered critical and I would save until I could get it done putting other things on the back burner. Flooring doesn't have to be horribly expensive and can often be done diy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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