Feeling Sick All The Time? It Could Be Legionnaire's Disease Caused By Your Air Conditioning

If you are feeling sick all the time, your air conditioning system may be the culprit. You should call an HVAC technician to clean your system, as the bacteria inside of it can cause Legionnaire's disease. Below is some information about this disease, as well as cleaning your HVAC unit.

Legionnaire's Disease

Legionnaire's disease is a form of pneumonia that is caused by bacteria. In most cases, a person gets this disease by breathing in a mist that contains a certain bacteria called legionella bacterium. You may get this mist from showers, hot tubs, and your air conditioning unit. Some symptoms of this disease include having a cough, chills, high fever, headache, and muscle pain. A doctor will give you a chest x-ray to confirm this diagnosis, or take a blood sample to check for the legionella bacteria.  If you have someone in your home that has asthma, a lung disease, or any other respiratory problems, they have an increased chance of contracting this disease. Smokers in your home also can more easily contract this disease.

A milder form of Legionnaire's disease is called Pontiac fever that is caused by the same bacteria. The major difference is that Pontiac fever does not cause pneumonia.

To prevent this bacteria from getting into your home, you can install an HVAC system that uses air cool refrigerant. This is beneficial as this type of coolant does not put water mist into the air. If you do not want to install a new system, you must keep your current system clean.

Clean HVAC Unit

One place bacteria can harbor is in the interior evaporator coil. The interior evaporator coil removes hot air from your home and transfers it outside so your home can stay cool and at the right temperature. Condensation can build up on the coil, as well as bacteria. For this reason, it is important that you clean the evaporator coil regularly. This coil is located inside your HVAC unit so it may be easier to hire an HVAC technician to clean it for you.

Something you may take for granted is changing the air filter for your unit once it becomes dirty. The bacteria can become embedded in the air filter's spores. Once this happens, every time the air comes on and blows air through the filter, the bacteria also blows through it and into your home.

There are many types of air filters on the market today. Your air conditioning technician can help you decide on the filter that is best for you and your home.