Life Hack: Close Your Windows

If you suffer from season allergies, then this season is said to be the worst for many of you in a long time. I won’t get into the debate about climate change and how it is said to have an impact on the latest seasonal allergy warnings. I’ll try to keep this hack as simple as humanly possible and leave the politicking to the others.

Here it is. If you want to significantly reduce the amount of pollen, ragweed and other pollutants floating invisibly through the air, SHUT YOUR WINDOWS! Seriously, it’s that simple. Be sure to set the AC to “recirculate,” and if it’s not hot outside, you can keep it in filter-only mode. Using an air conditioner in your car can cut the amount of pollen you breathe by as much as 30%, says Myngoc Nguyen, MD, chief of allergy at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Northern California.