Now that Christmas is rapidly approaching, you are sure to start seeing more and more Christmas trees appearing throughout your neighbourhood, and you’re probably preparing to put your own tree up yourself.
But as you get ready to deck the halls, you need to be aware that one of your main decorations could be disturbing the air you breathe, aggravating your allergies or affecting your breathing: your Christmas tree!
Because we at Aireman Filtration don’t want anything throwing a wrench in your plans this festive season, we’ve compiled a list of the different ways your Christmas tree could disturb the air you breathe, and how to counter them:
Christmas tree syndrome
If you suffer from hay fever, have you ever noticed that your symptoms tend to flare up or get worse over the Christmas period? Well, this could be because of your Christmas tree.
This “Christmas tree syndrome” as it has been dubbed, causes a problem in households that use real trees at Christmas, instead of artificial ones.
Symptoms of “Christmas Tree Syndrome” mirror those of hay fever, and can include watery eyes, wheezing, coughing, chest pains, itchy noses, lethargy and insomnia – none of which sound like a gift you’d be happy to receive over the holidays!
This is because real trees have pollen, and putting a big tree in the middle of your house is a sure-fire way to make sure you breathe in as much pollen as possible.
Christmas Trees also naturally have mold, and once you bring the tree inside the warm conditions are perfect for the mold to begin growing exponentially, releasing more and more spores into the air you breathe.
In extreme cases “Christmas tree syndrome” has even led to pneumonia which can be deadly.
This is why it is important to have an air filter that will work to remove as many of these impurities and mold spores from the air as possible, so you can enjoy your tree without worrying about it hurting you.
It is also a good idea to rinse and clean your tree before you bring it into your home, and also to put up and decorate your tree as late as possible to minimise the spread of spores.
Dust
If you use artificial trees, they are up and decorated for a couple of weeks then tend to spend most of the year sat in attics, basements or garages gathering months’ worth of dust before being used again.
When you put the tree up in your living room, this dust spreads and can be breathed in, causing issues for people who suffer from asthma or other respiratory issues.
Again, having a hard working air filter – such as the Wingman1 Filter – as part of your HVAC system is important in making sure you can enjoy Christmas to its full, by removing allergens from the air before you have a chance to breathe them in.
Also make sure to clean and rinse the tree and decorations outside once you have removed them from storage and before you start decorating your home.
