Wednesday 29 July 2015

Is Your Air Conditioner Making you Sick?

While your air conditioning unit is keeping you cool in the summer, there are a few health risks you should be aware of. With constant use of your air conditioners, you can lead yourself to having health problems or exasperating the ones you already have.

By learning how to avoid those health risks you can easily enjoy the cool of your home during the blazing hot summer temperatures. You can also learn a few tips to help keep your indoor air quality clean and help you breathe easier.

 

Dry Skin

While you might not even think about it that air conditioning unit is drying out your skin. Prolonged exposure to the cooler air can really pull the moisture out of your skin. To help combat this problem, you should consistently apply moisturizing lotion to your exposed skin. This will help to minimize dry itchiness and peeling that can sometimes accompany the problem.

 

Dry Nasal Passages

Some people are prone to having nosebleeds and one season that it is the worst is the summer. That is because the can also dry out your nasal passages as well as your skin. This can lead to nosebleeds when you least expect them. Try using some saline solution when you know that you’re going to be in the AC a long time. It will help to keep your nose moisturized and feeling its best.

 

Colds

With your nasal passages and mucus membranes drying out it can leave you wide open to catching upper respiratory infections. This means that your normal immunity is not what it should be and you will catch colds more easily than normal.

 

Intolerance to Heat

Staying in the AC for long periods of time will soon acclimate you to the colder temperatures. It will be harder for you to stay out in the heat for any length of time and cause you to be intolerant to it.

 

Exasperate Allergies

If you already have allergy issues, the AC’s constant running can actually make them worse. This all happens when you have an improperly maintained system. It can be blowing mold, mildew, dust, and pollutants around without you even knowing it.

 

Ways to Help

There are several things you can do to help prevent these problems during the summer. You can avoid this risks by taking a few simple steps to protect your home and yourself. First consider an air purifier being added to your home. This will help to eliminate the dirty air that can be circulating in the home. These can be installed by your local HVAC technician.

Consider running an in-home humidifier if your AC system doesn’t regulate it already. This will help keep some moisture in the air without making it too warm at the same time. Keeping the humidity regulated is key in helping to combat dry skin, nasal passages, and warding off colds.

Make sure you clean or change the air filters on a regular basis. The ideal change rate is every 30 days to prevent build up and debris restricting your system. Also have regular maintenance performed on your system by an HVAC technician. They will clean the system, check for leaks, and perform small repairs to ensure your system is running smoothly.

Try to spend sometimes outdoors as well. This will help you to stay used to the heat and prevent problems down the road. By taking these few steps in your home you can avoid some of the common health risks that prolonged use of the air conditioning unit can cause. Be sure to take the proper precautions for a healthy lifestyle in the home.

 

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Is Your Air Conditioner Making you Sick?

from Prepper Daily News http://ift.tt/1KzD8ht
via Daily Prepper News

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