Combat the Common Cold with Your HVAC | Columbia Heating & Cooling

Winter is here and the season of sickness is in full swing. Stuffy noses, sore throats, and the flu always seem to be right around the corner, lurking in a poorly-timed handshake or sudden sneeze.

To help you stay in health, we’ve put together a quick list of HVAC pro-tips that just might give you the edge you need in battling the common cold.

Stay Fresh

Still air trapped inside of your home can be a haven for airborne illnesses. Circulating the air with your HVAC system can help prevent you, your family, and any guests from inhaling unwanted bacteria. To make sure the air you’re moving throughout your home is truly fresh and clean, switch out the air filter in your system at least once every three months. A dirty filter means dirty air, which, even when properly circulated, can bring you one step closer to sneezes and sniffles.

Add Moisture

Dry skin, chapped lips, and quickly-spreading sickness: all byproducts of winter’s arid air. The flu and common cold move swiftly from host to host during this season, thanks in part to a lack of moisture. An easy way to slow down the travel of nasty cold bugs? Bring in a humidifier. Adding moisture to the air also helps alleviate cold symptoms like a sore throat and congestion, should anyone in your household get sick.

Keep Warm

Odds are, when it is cold outside, you’re staying warm indoors with a little help from your HVAC. This is good news for you and bad news for the common cold. Recent studies have shown that the colder your body is, the less effectively it works to fight against ailment. When you are bundled up and cozy, sick cells die off quickly, lowering an infection’s ability to spread. Hint: Your body’s version of this heat healing mechanism is a fever – which helps your immune system fight off infection and makes your body less hospitable to temperature sensitive bad bugs. To ensure maximum comfort and a better chance at making it through the season without falling ill, turn to your programmable thermostat. Align the temperature of your house with your schedule and avoid bringing a chill home with you.

When is the last time you called in an expert for routine maintenance on your HVAC? Keep your system in good shape and you might just be healthier for it. Give the professionals at Columbia Heating and Cooling a call today for a free replacement estimate.