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A Flower Garden of Your Own

I absolutely adore flower gardens. Whenever I want to relax and view nature in one of its most beautiful forms, I sit in or near a flower garden. Smelling the aromatic fragrances of roses always instantly improves my mood. Do you have a flower garden on your property? If you don’t currently have a flower garden, consider starting one this summer. If your knowledge about flowers is limited, visiting a local home and garden center is a great idea. An expert at this kind of business establishment can help you pick the varieties of flowers that grow best in your part of the country. On this blog, I hope you will discover the easiest types of flowers to grow in a backyard flower garden. Enjoy!

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A Flower Garden of Your Own

How To Prevent Winter Indoor Allergies

by Amelia Sutton

Most people think spring or summer when they think about allergies. Unfortunately, winter can also lead to allergy symptoms in some people — dry coughs, itchy eyes, and stuffiness. The cause is not usually pollen, but dust and dander in the home. Your home's furnace can actually make matters worse. Here are the usual suspects for winter indoor allergies caused by your residential heating, and how you can overcome them.

Dust in the System

Dust can collect inside your actual heating system. The most obvious location is in the filter. Change out your filter monthly if you have the symptoms of a dust allergy. Replace the standard filter with a HEPA filter. The smaller filter pores in a HEPA filter catch more dust so it doesn't circulate through your home. When changing the filter, also take some time to use wand attachment on the vacuum to clean out the filter housing so there isn't dust still lurking in there. Finally, during your annual heater inspection and tune-up, ask the technician to dust off the blower fan so it doesn't send any dust flying into your home.

Dirty Ducts

Dust, dander, and mold spores can all collect in your duct system. Having the ducts cleaned every couple of years will overcome this issue. A technician will inspect the ducts and then vacuum them out with a special device so that no dust remains. To further cut down on dust in the ducts, make sure you cover them whenever you are doing any home renovation projects. If you don't use your ducts in the summer, which is typical mainly in homes without an AC, then close the ducts completely for the season to cut down on the amount of dust that can collect in the home.

Add Some Moisture

The dry air produced by central heating can cause dry coughs and itchy eyes similar to allergies in some people. There isn't much you can do to prevent your heater from drying out the air, but you can use a humidifier to add some moisture back into your home during the cold season. Individual units in the bedrooms can help alleviate these symptoms for most people, or you can place a unit in the room where you tend to spend the most time. Just keep in mind that humidifiers can increase the chances of mold growth in the home, which can also irritate allergies.

Contact a residential heating service for more help in keeping your furnace clean and running well.

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