It's spring in Colorado! We see the tulips popping out of the sometimes snow-covered ground, and our thoughts turn to the impending warmer weather.
As allergy sufferers know, spring can be a tough time. In Colorado, April and May can be especially difficult as tree pollens, such as cottonwood and cedar emerge. If you are a sufferer of seasonal allergies, you are not alone; according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundations of America, over six million children and 20 million adults in the US experience seasonal allergies.
So, what do allergies have to do with your car? Turns out, a lot.
Dirty and saturated cabin air filters significantly reduce the airflow from the outside and introduce particulate matter and allergens (for example, pollen) into the cabin air stream1. How often you need to replace your vehicle's cabin filter depends on where you live (urban vs. rural environments), the make, model, and year of your vehicle, and whether you are an allergy or asthma sufferer. For non-allergy sufferers, it is sufficient to replace a cabin air filter whenever your recommended maintenance says to do so (often, this is between 15-30K miles). However, recommended maintenance is about replacing the cabin air filter to ensure airflow is not restricted, rather than when environmental pollen exacerbates allergies. If you are an allergy sufferer, make sure to replace your cabin filter during the season where allergies are most affected. Otherwise, driving with your heat or air conditioning on is likely to exacerbate your seasonal allergies.
If you have asthma or are very sensitive to significant gaseous smells such as diesel exhaust, request an activated charcoal filter. A study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that activate charcoal air cabin filters "clearly reduced the intensity of symptoms induced by diesel exhaust."2
Schedule a check of your heating and air conditioning system today and do what you can to lessen your allergy burden this season.
