Can Outdoor Pollen Affect You Indoors?

People who are prone to seasonal allergies often have mixed opinions about the spring and summer. While the weather is great in many areas, the pollen count can go off the charts. Can outdoor pollen affect you indoors?

Outdoor pollen can affect you indoors, as pollen can enter your home through door and window gaps. Pollen can also seep into your home through external vents and spread throughout your air ducts. Replace your air filter, clean your air ducts, and run an air purifier to reduce the indoor pollen level.

Bathe your dog throughout the spring and summer to stop it from tracking pollen into your home. Follow along as we explore how outdoor pollen affects you indoors and highlight the best ways to reduce it.

Does Pollen Affect You Indoors?

Pollen can affect you inside just as much as it does outside. It may not be as present in many homes, but any amount of pollen can affect you if you’re sensitive. You can unknowingly let pollen into your home if you crack the windows on a nice spring or summer day. Your home's exterior vents can also pull pollen into your home, especially if you don’t have a screen to protect your house.

Pets also commonly track pollen into homes, and it can easily spread from there. Low indoor air pressure can also pull pollen into your home and cause uncomfortable symptoms. This is especially bad if you have respiratory issues, like asthma and COPD. Pollen-sensitive people often experience sneezing, itchy eyes, skin irritation, a runny nose, and respiratory problems due to prolonged exposure. That’s why you must do everything possible to reduce indoor pollen so you can avoid uncomfortable symptoms this spring and summer.

How To Reduce Pollen Indoors

It’s nearly impossible to prevent pollen from entering your home during the spring and summer. That’s especially true if you live in an area full of lush plants and pollinators. However, you can significantly reduce the amount of pollen inside using several methods, such as:

Replace The Air Filter

Your HVAC system can take on a lot of pollen, especially during the spring and summer. The air filter is meant to catch contaminants, such as pollen, dander, dust, and loose hair. However, that won’t happen if your air filter is so dirty that it’s become clogged. It only takes a few months for an air filter to get clogged, but there is no ironclad timeline. For example, the filter may get dirty sooner if you live in a small home with pets and several other people.

Pollen may quickly clog the air filter if you regularly leave the windows open during the spring and summer. Once the filter gets dirty, it can’t catch pollen and other contaminants, so they’ll fill the air in your home. This can affect you in many ways and make you feel uncomfortable. Replace your air filter every 1-3 months, or at least once per season, to avoid this problem.

Seal Your Doors And Windows

The best way to reduce indoor pollen is to stop it from entering your house in the first place. Some pollen will still enter your house no matter what you do, but you can keep a lot of it out. The best way to do so is to seal the gaps in your doors and windows. Many people have gaps beneath their doors, which make it easy for bugs, pollen, and drafts to enter their homes. 

You can help keep pollen out of your house by installing weatherstripping at the bottom of your entry doors. Door sweeps are the easiest option, but they’re not as effective as screwing weatherstripping into the bottom of your doors. If you need a temporary solution, you can place a rolled towel at the bottom of entry doors. Examine your windows as well to see if there are any gaps letting air and pollen inside. Patch these gaps with caulk and spray foam, or call a professional.

Use An Air Purifier

Every homeowner can benefit from using an air purifier, as it can significantly improve a home’s air quality. That’s especially true with an air purifier that has a HEPA filter, which can remove pollen from the air. While you should do your best to keep pollen out of your house, that’s not always an option. For example, renters can’t necessarily replace their doors and windows or seal tricky gaps to keep pollen out.

In that case, your only option is to remove airborne pollen, which is mostly only possible with a HEPA filter. Air purifiers can especially benefit homeowners with asthma, as they can also filter dander, dust, and other contaminants. Replace your air purifier’s filter every 6 to 12 months to ensure a reliable performance. Otherwise, it will stop filtering out pollen and other contaminants.

Be Careful With Your Pets

Your dog will naturally get exposed to a lot of pollen if it spends time outside during the spring and summer and that means your home will take on more pollen. If you’re careful, though, your dog can get plenty of outside time without flooding your home with pollen.

Monitor where your dog goes outside. For example, steer them away from trees, grasses, and shrubs with high pollen counts. That said, this may not be an option if your home and neighborhood are full of greenery. However, you should still bathe your pets to remove and keep pollen off them. Pay special attention to your dog’s paws, as they often walk on pollen-covered grass.

Summing It Up

Outdoor pollen can enter your home and trigger uncomfortable symptoms, whether you’re allergic or not. You can prevent this by sealing the gaps beneath your doors and windows and closing your windows when the pollen count is high. It’s also important to run a HEPA-filter air purifier, replace your AC filter, and clean your air ducts to reduce indoor pollen.

Related Guides:

• Common Fall Allergies You Probably Didn't Know About
• Seven Reasons You Have Bad Winter Allergies In Your Home