Put Hay Fever on Hiatus: Home Replacement Windows & Allergies

Approximately 50 million Americans suffer from allergies. Every spring, they suffer from the red eyes, running nose, pounding headache, sneezing and coughing fits that are part and parcel of environmental allergies. People would do anything to escape the agony — including shelling out millions of dollars on over the counter and prescription medications, not to mention alternative treatment options.

Unfortunately, there’s no cure for allergies. The only way to alleviate the suffering caused by allergies is to reduce exposure to allergens. This can be difficult when the substance making you feel ill is carried on every passing breeze.

Alleviating allergy problems starts at home. Allergies are the body’s immune system overreacting to a substance that’s harmless to most people. Examples are pollen, dust, mold, and pet dander. All of these items can be carried along on the breeze, and collectively are known as air-borne allergens. Additionally, increasing numbers of people are chemically sensitive, meaning they have allergic reactions to chemicals sprayed on lawns and agricultural crops.

The more exposure one has to air-borne allergens and chemical irritants, the more severe allergy symptoms because. Minimizing exposure to irritating agents can help allergy sufferers enjoy a more pleasant spring — but how can this be accomplished?

One of the ways to minimize exposure to irritating agents is to strengthen or tighten the building envelope of your home. A ‘tight’ home is one in which there is little to no uncontrolled air exchange between conditioned interior home and the air outside — the air that’s laden with pollen, dust, pet dander and other allergens. The tighter the building envelope, the less exterior air penetrates into your living space — triggering fewer allergy attacks.
This is where home replacement windows come into place. When installed in place of older, leaky windows, vinyl or fiberglass home replacement windows can substantially reduce air penetration. This minimizes the number of airborne allergens entering your living space. The fewer allergens entering your home, the less severe your allergy symptoms will be.

Home replacement windows can play a pivotal role in tightening a home’s building envelope. Double pane or triple pane glass windows featuring pockets of insulating gasses enhance a home’s energy efficiency. Keeping conditioned, allergen free air inside where you can enjoy it while preventing allergen-laden air from outside from intruding results in a more comfortable, enjoyable experience for all involved.

Additionally, the sleek smooth lines of modern vinyl home replacement windows can help control allergen accumulation within the home. Easy to clean surfaces reduce the labor involved in everyday maintenance. Wiping away household dust and pet dander before it accumulates makes life far more comfortable for everyone in the house. Tilt in windows make cleaning the window glass a snap — no need to balance precariously on a ladder to wash away accumulated pollen, dust, or other irritants.

Reducing exposure to allergens is the only proven way to alleviate suffering from environmental allergies. While it is next to impossible to eliminate all exposure to airborne irritants, installing home replacement windows can help minimize the intrusion of these elements into your living space – and that’s nothing to sneeze at!