Questions about bronchiectasis and HVAV, Filters, Vacuuming Ducts

Correction
Cough worsens in car
Sorry for typo.

Great questions! Post aspergillosis lungs can be very sensitive.
Your car has an air filter for the ventilation system. In most it is on the air intake behind the glove compartment. Until I started paying attention, I didn't even know it existed, but now my husband changes it twice a year & we always keep the windows up. Also, it may be that there is mold in your AC ducts or carpet/padding? I had that once in a car that had been abused before I got it. I bet you can find out on line how to deal with it.

As for the HVAC - we put in the best HEPA filtration system we could when we got our new furnace 5 years ago, but skipped the UV because the reviews on how effective it is are spotty. We run our house fan on low & change the filters more often than recommended. The best one for you will depend on your system and how you use it.

A very big thing we did many years ago was to remove the "hiding places" for dust, mold spores, etc - all carpet except the guest room & stairs replaced with hard flooring. The carpet that is there is very low pile. All curtains are completely washable, or were replaced by easily cleaned shades/blinds and wipeable valances.

In addition, we run smaller HEPA filters in our living area - one in the main area & another in our bedroom, as well as one in my much used studio/sewing room. (Also in our very tiny Texas house.) We find this helpful as we both have bad allergies. I chose Honeywell ones because the filters are widely available, easy to change, and the machines tell me when the filters need changing.

All of these combined make life more comfortable. Sue

Thank you for so many details.
We have no carpet only hardwood floors. Just had 4inch Media filters installed on HVAC systems . Contemplating vacuuming ducts and additional filter system. Car is fairly new 2018 BMW only two of us are occupants but news of filters is tremendous! I had no clue about running HVAC fans or interior fans. Thanks! There is so much that is helpful on this site that no one has mentioned in physician visits. It is a great gift to this spouse!

I agree that there is much that physicians don't mention - but they are so constrained by time, and the number of patients, that it would be impossible for them to tell us everything we eventually need to know.

If you had a more common disease like COPD and asked a lot of questions, the doc or his nurse might suggest a local support group. But, I bet you never heard of Bronchiectasis before his diagnosis - most of us have not! So a local support group would probably consist of the two of you - not helpful. So why not let us, on the MAC & Bronchiectasis (BE) group be your virtual support group?

There are many ways to find topics that have already been discussed, or to pose a new question. If you are new to the site, find tips for doing that here:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/help-center/

I recently posted some helpful links to our group, and tips on searching through the 1000's of messages here over the past 10+ years. You can read it here:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/tipsadvice-on-successful-3-drug-arikayce-treatment/?pg=1#comment-742980

As always, if you can't find a helpful discussion, you can start a new - just try to give it an informative title that gives people a hint about what you need. The one above was great, but didn't need to include your name, because Connect automatically attaches it to your post.

As you get used to this condition, I think you will find it easier to take it in stride and ease back into life.
Sue