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How Your Pet Affects 7 Things to Take Care Patrick’s Holiday Cinnamon Monkey
Indoor Air Quality of at your New Home Coupon Corner Bread recipe
page 1 & 2 page 3 page 3 page 4
Winter 2016
How Your Pet Affects Indoor Air Quality
The benefits of pet ownership are Modifications to deal with pets in
measurable: Lower stress levels, the home
less likelihood of heart attacks, Even with no allergies, you want to
increased fitness, reduced make sure to replace your furnace
depression. filter more frequently as pet hairs
and other contaminants can gather
But there is a dark side: Allergies in the filter, clogging it faster and
Approximately 10% of people have gathering in your ductwork and
some sort of pet allergy, two-thirds other surfaces.
of which are cat allergies. These
unfortunate souls have to deal with For allergy situations, mechanical
runny noses, itchy eyes, bothersome system modifications can go a long
sneezing fits, rashes, breathing way to alleviate some of the issues
problems and swollen nasal with pet allergies.
membranes.
Typical HVAC filters are capable of
A pet allergy is an immune response removing particles down to 3
to a protein found in urine, saliva microns in size, depending on its
and the skin of cats and dogs. This Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value
protein is discharged into the air (MERV) rating.
when pets shed, releasing dander
(dead skin cells).
High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA)
filters were developed by military
While some breeds are more likely
to cause an allergic reaction, there scientists to
is no such thing as a hypoallergenic
cat or dog. Continued on page 2
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