Can Air Conditioning Trigger Asthma Symptoms And Attacks?

by hydro | Feb 14, 2022 | blog

Can Air Conditioning Trigger Asthma Symptoms And Attacks?

Air conditioning is a double-edged sword for people with asthma: You can use it to improve your indoor air quality and eliminate common asthma triggers. But, an AC with even minor problems or maintenance needs causes flare-ups and asthma attacks.

It’s a critical topic for the summer. It’s peak allergy season, with plenty of pollen everywhere. Even a summer shower can be a trigger for asthma attacks.

And, we keep our doors and windows shut all the time once the AC starts running. Without fresh air circulation, there is all sorts of buildup, especially dust and pollen, in the home.

As a result, indoor triggers are a massive contributor to asthma flare-ups and even death. But, there’s plenty you can do to make your home safer — starting with your cooling system in the summer.

We’ll explore the good and the bad of AC’s and asthma in this article. That includes what cooling features you can use to improve indoor air quality. And, what to watch out for — and how to fix it.

If you have questions or concerns about our home’s indoor air quality or any problems with your mini split, call HydroKleen208 at (208) 779-5596. We serve homes and businesses from Boise, ID to Cascade in Valley County.

Air Conditioners And Asthma

Your air conditioner can help alleviate asthma symptoms. But only if it’s working properly. If it’s not, your AC makes things worse.

Benefits

Along with keeping you cool, an air conditioner reduces the presence of significant asthma triggers.

Filters

When the AC’s running, air flows from each room through the return vent and into your HVAC system. The filter captures all the dust and dirt that comes in with it.

That means fewer dust particles in the air to trigger coughing fits, trouble breathing, or a full-on asthma attack. And, you can upgrade to a stronger filter that catches tiny contaminants, including pollen.

Humidity Control

Part of your AC’s job is to dehumidify your home or remove moisture from the air. Along with keeping you cool, it makes it easier to breathe.

Air with too much moisture affects the nerves in your lungs, which cause your airways to tighten. Keeping your home between 30 and 50 percent relative humidity reduces the chance of that happening.

Risks

The two features on your air conditioner that help manage asthma can also make it worse.

Dust And Dirty Filters

Eventually, the air filter in your HVAC system gets clogged with dirt. The result is less airflow throughout the house because air can’t make it past the dirty screen and into the system.

That means less cool, dry air in the house and more warm, humid air.

Next, excess dust comes loose from the filter and make its way back through the vents. All those tiny irritants are now circulating through your home again, where you can breathe them in.

Fortunately, there’s an easy fix: Change the filter every month when you’re running the heat or AC. And put a new one in every three months when the system’s off.

Mold

Mold is a bigger problem with mini splits than conventional central air. And, once again, humidity is a significant factor.

Mold triggers asthma symptoms in the form of an allergic reaction: When you breathe in spores floating through the air, your body perceives them as a threat. Along with other responses, your immune system causes your airways to constrict.

Cooling and humidity control prevents mold spores from growing at home because they require someplace dark, damp, and warm.

But, it’s dark and warm inside your AC unit. That’s also where moisture from the air condenses back into the liquid. It doesn’t take much for even a small malfunction to allow mold to begin thriving.

Even just a dirty filter can cause this problem: Interrupting the airflow means more warmth and stagnant water inside your cooling system.

Mini Splits Vs. Conventional ACs

A Ductless Mini Split Is A Great Heating And Cooling Option Even though forced-air systems are more common, ductless systems are becoming more popular. That’s especially so here in Boise and up in Valley County.

Mini splits are an excellent option for upgrading their century-old homes in Boise or converted vacation homes in Donnelley or McCall that never had ductwork.

Even larger luxury houses in Caldwell and new suburban homes in Kuna benefit from the upgrade. Most new homes don’t have the best ductwork design, and some owners have bypassed that by going with a ductless system instead.

But, with those benefits come a few indoor air quality concerns, especially for people with asthma. Fortunately, they’re easy to address.

Filters

Unlike conventional central air, mini split filters are reusable. Instead of buying those cardboard-framed filters at the hardware store, you take out a plastic screen, clean it, and put it back in.

It’s a little more work, and as a result, people tend to put it off longer. That means more dust and dirt building up inside the air handler.

Meanwhile, ductless air handlers are excellent for airflow. Most have more than a dozen circulation patterns to spread the air — and dust — far and wide.

Mold

The big problem with mini splits is mold — and it’s more common than you’d imagine. Instead of one cooling unit for your home, each air handler dehumidifies from inside the room it’s treating.

So, you get a lot of moisture moving over the coils in each indoor unit. The result? That perfect dark, damp, and warm breeding ground.

What’s even worse is that the coil gets clogged very quickly. Even within a year, you may notice less airflow and maybe even stale air in some rooms. Here’s what’s happening inside the system:

A Ductless System Can Get Moldy If Not Taken Care Of

A clogged coil that can’t function properly. What makes the air stale or smelly is mold circulating from the unit.

Even for a professional HVAC tech, it’s difficult to take apart an air handler and clean it thoroughly. Instead, you need a separate deep cleaning.

Mini Split Deep Cleaning

HydroKleen Global designed a mini split deep cleaning that eradicates all the dust, allergens, and microbial contaminants inside your mini split with one quick and easy visit. Now, HydroKleen208 brings that technology to the Treasure Valley.

Our customized equipment reaches every surface inside your air handler and heat pump without taking them apart. Our sprayers are calibrated to do the job without using so much pressure that they’ll break any delicate parts inside the units.

And, our cleaning solution is 100-percent non-toxic and safe for the environment.

And, the results speak for themselves. Here’s a photo where one of our techs cleaned the right side of the coil in an air handler. Compare that to the uncleaned portion:

You Can See How Dirty A Mini Split System Can Get

If you’ve had a mini split for more than a year, it’s time for a cleaning — especially if you’ve noticed any airflow or indoor air quality issues.

One visit makes a big difference. You may even notice lower electric bills afterward because a clean system runs more efficiently than one that’s clogged and dirty.

Mini Split Cleaning In Cascade, ID

HydroKleen208 guarantees the most effective mini split cleaning for the ductless system in your Cascade, ID home or business. We bring more than a decade of dedicated research and development to Valley County and Boise Metro. Click below or call us at (208) 779-5596.

Breathe Smarter: New Asthma Management Technology [2022]

by hydro | Feb 11, 2022 | blog

New Technology That Helps Control Asthma And Prevent Attacks

Breathe Smarter: New Asthma Management Technology [2022]

Modern science hasn’t found a cure for asthma yet. But, the latest technology can help you manage your symptoms and treatment better than ever before. Everything from apps to smart products to new cleaning strategies makes a world of difference.

And, these breakthroughs come just in time.

Even before 2020, Americans, in general, spent around 90 percent of their time indoors where asthma triggers build up. Now, with remote work and learning taking off, managing your home’s air quality is crucial.

We’ll explore the latest and greatest tools out there. If you’re looking for more ways to improve the indoor air quality in your Donnelly, ID home (or anywhere in the Treasure Valley), call HydroKleen208 at (208) 779-5596.

Schedule A HydroKleen Appointment

New Asthma Treatment Technology

The basics behind rescue inhalers, albuterol treatments, oral corticosteroids, and other standard treatments are still the same. But, their delivery methods are getting smarter, and you have more ways than ever to track, treat, and address your symptoms.

Smart Inhalers

Do you know how often you use your inhaler? Your doctor probably asks, and sometimes it’s tough to keep track. THat’s where smart inhalers come in.

These new products use Bluetooth and other mobile technology to track your usage. Not only do you get a record of when you’re using it. That data can help prevent future attacks.

With close, careful tracking, you and your doctor can identify the expected times you need your medication. From there, you can work on how to prevent those events. Your doctor may also recognize a need to change your medicine or adjust the dosage.

Some models can even tell if you’re using the inhaler properly or not. Or alert you that you’re entering an area with a lot of pollen or pollution.

Interactive Spirometers

Managing asthma for children is challenging. They don’t always understand why they need to do things their friends don’t have to. Or take medicine that other kids don’t need. An interactive spirometer makes it easier for them to follow doctors’ orders.

Take Aluna, for instance. It looks like a toy, and it connects to an app with an interactive game for children. That makes it more engaging for them, which means using it is less of a struggle.

It will also time out after too many tries. That way, your child won’t tire out their lungs by “playing” with it too much at once.

Meanwhile, the app tracks and stores the results. You can download the data, send them to your doctor, and get real-time alerts with results when your child uses it.

New Apps

There Are Even Apps That Can Help You Manage Asthma Now Beyond gadgets, your smartphone alone can help you manage your asthma. They’re easy to use, and most are free.

Asthma MD (And Others)

Asthma MD makes it easy to keep a detailed asthma journal. It lets you log your medication usage, attacks, and more. Since it’s an app, you can access it on multiple devices — no need to keep a physical book with you.

You can color-code it and log entries for everyone in your family. And send the data directly to your doctor.

You can also check out Asthma Buddy and AsthmaTrack. They have similar features.

KagenAir App

The KagenAir App isn’t just for people with asthma. But, it’s an excellent tool for those managing it for themselves or family members. It’s an app that tracks weather along with common asthma and allergy triggers in the environment around you.

You can fine-tune it by answering a few questions about your allergy or asthma symptoms and triggers. It takes less than a minute every day.

From there, the app customizes your daily report. Depending on what you need to know, you’ll get information about pollen counts, humidity, wind speed and direction, mold spores, pollution, and more.

Preventing Asthma Attacks In Homes With Ductless Mini Splits

What Does It Cost To Clean A Heat Pump And Mini Split In Boise Metro?

Homes with mini splits, or ductless heating and cooling systems, often have more asthma triggers than you may realize.

All sorts of dust, dirt, and microbial contaminants build up inside the air handlers. They take hold behind the barrel fans and in the tiny grooves of the coil behind the filter.

Then, when the system turns on, all that junk blows into the air around you.

If you have a mini split, ask yourself: Have you been experiencing more allergy symptoms or asthma attacks after having your system for a year or longer? Does the air in your home feel stale or just not as clean as it used to?

If so, the odds are your air handlers are gunked up with pollen and dust and infested with mold and mildew. If you were to take it apart (which we don’t recommend), you’d probably see something like this:

A Ductless System Can Get Moldy If Not Taken Care Of

That stuff can and will trigger asthma attacks — and worse. In severe cases, mold spores circulating from an air handler cause toxic mold problems.

Fortunately, there’s a fast and easy solution for businesses and homeowners in Valley County and Boise Metro: A deep cleaning.

Why A Deep Cleaning Is Important

A mini split deep cleaning goes way beyond cleaning your filter or even having an HVAC professional perform service or maintenance on your system. It’s the only way to reach every nook and cranny inside your system and eradicate the pollutants inside it.

Our cleanings work so well because our parent company, HydroKleen Global, spent more than a decade researching and developing tools and strategies specifically to clean these systems.

Now, HydroKleen208 brings those innovations to the Treasure Valley with a fast, easy, and inexpensive visit.

Our pressurized washer is strong enough to flush out the entire system without damaging anything. And, our cleaning agents are 100% non-toxic and safe for the environment.

Mini Split & Heat Pump Cleaning For People With Asthma In Donnelly, ID

HydroKleen208’s mini split and heat pump cleanings play a pivotal role in managing asthma. We serve homes and businesses in Donnelly, ID, across Valley County, and Boise Metro. Click below for an appointment or call (208) 779-5596 to learn more.

Schedule A HydroKleen Appointment

Common Asthma Triggers (And How To Avoid Them)

by hydro | Feb 9, 2022 | blog

How To Make Your Home Safe From Mother Nature’s Common Asthma Triggers

Common Asthma Triggers From Mother Nature (And How To Avoid Them) Let’s face it: Mother Nature is no friend to people with asthma. Sure, manufactured chemicals and toxins may trigger attacks. But there are plenty of hazards in the natural world that do the same.

And, some of them may surprise you. For instance, did you know that a thunderstorm can cause asthma attacks for thousands of people at once?

Or, how wildfires on the west coast and here in Idaho affect people with asthma?

This article discusses common (and surprising) asthma triggers out there thanks to Mother Nature. We’ll also discuss preventing attacks and steps you can take to remove many natural triggers from your home.

Improving indoor air quality is an essential part of what we do here at HydroKleen208. If you’re concerned about the air quality in your home near Cascade, ID or Boise Metro, give us a call at (208) 779-5596.

Wildfires

Wildfires are unhealthy for everyone. Even if you’re hundreds of miles away, the smoke and ash can irritate your nose, throat, eyes, and lungs. People with asthma, COPD, or other respiratory issues get it even worse.

In particular, the smoke and ash irritate and inflames your lungs. These conditions make it much harder to breathe, which triggers asthma attacks. What’s worse is that the smoke lingers for days or weeks. That means prolonged exposure.

Here in Idaho, wildfires are a big problem, especially in the summer. Not only do we deal with wildfires in our state. We also get pollution from fires in nearby Washington, Oregon, and California.

How To Prevent

For starters, stock up on air filters for your heating and cooling system early in the year. Even a basic filter helps screen out smoke and ash in your house. But if there’s a shortage by spring, you’re stuck when wildfire season hits.

You can keep track of wildfires in Boise Metro or Valley County by following the news or checking Idaho’s wildfire site. And in general, you can check your air quality by zip code any time using this site.

If you have a mini split system, you wash and reuse your filter. In that case, clean it more often when there’s wildfire smoke nearby. And, we’ll talk more about mini split cleaning later on.

Next, keep some particulate respirator masks on hand. Those would be N95 or P100 masks. Cloth masks don’t work nearly as well.

Epidemic Thunderstorm Asthma

Believe it or not, a severe thunderstorm can trigger asthma attacks. Technically it’s not the storm itself. The culprit is usually pollen.

Heavy rain and sudden changes to temperature or humidity cause pollen grains to open and release high amounts of pollen at once. Then, high winds spread the pollen, and fungal spores, quickly.

Thunderstorm asthma isn’t the most common problem for people with asthma. It doesn’t occur with every storm, nor does it always happen on a day when the pollen count is high.

However, epidemic thunderstorm asthma made headlines a few years ago in Australia, which is home to our parent company, HydroKleen Global. Ten people died as a result, and the event sent thousands of people to the emergency room.

How To Prevent It

Since thunderstorm asthma isn’t common, you don’t need to worry every time the weather calls for showers. But, if there’s a heavy storm on the way in spring and summer, or when there’s a high pollen count, take some extra precaution.

Treat the event like any day with a high pollen count:

Make sure you have your inhaler

Use preventer medication if you have it
Try not to go outside and keep your windows closed
Remove your shoes when you get home
Make sure the air filters in your HVAC system are clean

Pollen And Other Allergens

Most people think about pollen as a problem for people with allergies. But, asthma and seasonal allergies are a common combination. Airborne allergens trigger asthma attacks, too.

When you have a pollen allergy, your body reacts to this harmless substance as if it’s an invader like a virus or something else that can make you sick.

Your immune system pumps out chemicals to fight the invasion. That results in itchy eyes, runny noses, and congestion.

The problem is that reaction also affects the lungs and airways, triggering an asthma attack.

How To Prevent It

We already mentioned some strategies for high pollen count days. There are also some basic precautions:

Check the pollen account and air quality forecasts every day. Pay close attention in the spring and summer.

Use a particle mask when gardening. You’re likely to encounter pollen near plants, so take extra care.

Have your rescue medication ready. Make sure your inhaler or albuterol is nearby on high pollen count days. If you’re having severe reactions, your doctor can recommend stronger treatments.

Stick to a regular cleaning regimen at home. Wash your sheets weekly, vacuum rugs, and wipe surfaces with a damp cloth.

Mold, Mildew, Fungus, And Bacteria

Mold, mildew, fungus, and bacteria all irritate your lungs and airways. They cause inflammation the same way pollen does. Too much exposure makes anyone feel sick, plus it’s an asthma trigger.

How To Prevent It

Once again, a regular cleaning regimen helps keep many of these natural irritants at bay. In particular, you also want to eliminate conditions in your home that make it easy for mold and fungus to thrive.

That means looking for — and clearing out — any space that’s warm, moist, and dark.

Check the corners of your basement and behind your washing machine, dryer, and refrigerator. And, if you have a mini split, we have more information for you.

Mini Split Cleaning Remove Asthma Triggers In Homes With Ductless HVAC

The insides of mini split air handlers are excellent breeding grounds for mold, mildew, and other microbial contaminants. And, it’s a bigger problem than many people here in the U.S. realize yet.

The insides of these units are warm, moist, and dark. They’re also nearly impossible to clean.

When you clean the filter, as you should, you’re only addressing that component. Even professional maintenance only scratches the surface.

It would take your HVAC tech hours to disassemble the entire unit to reach everywhere. And to clean the grooves between every fin on the coil — that’s where we find large buildups of mold, mildew, fungus, and more.

Here’s a typical photo of an air handler we cleaned. Partway through, we took a picture showing how dirty it gets — and how much of a difference a deep clean makes.

You Can See How Dirty A Mini Split System Can Get

We’re able to do this thanks to our customized equipment and cleaning agents. Our sprayers can reach in and around every part of the air handler. So, we can clean the entire thing (plus your heat pump outside) without taking it apart.

Meanwhile, our cleaning agents eradicate microbial contaminants. But, they’re 100-percent non-toxic and safe for the environment.

So, we’re not pumping your home full of chemicals that will make you sick. And, you don’t need to worry about your town’s water when we flush everything out.

We mentioned our parent company, HydroKleen Global, earlier. They’ve spent more than a decade in research and development. Now, HydroKleen208 brings that expertise to Valley County and Boise Metro.

Mini Split And Heat Pump Cleaning In And Around Cascade, ID

HydroKleen208 provides the world’s most effective mini split and heat pump cleaning for homes and businesses in Cascade, ID and anywhere in the Treasure Valley. If you’re not satisfied, it’s free. Click below for an appointment or call (208) 779-5596 to learn more.

Schedule A Ductless Mini Split Cleaning