Residences today are constructed with energy efficiency in mind. This involves extra insulation and tightly sealed doors and windows to keep heating and cooling costs affordable. While this is positive for your heating and cooling costs, it’s not so good for your indoor air quality.
Since air has reduced chances to escape, contaminants can accumulate and impact your house’s indoor air quality. In reality, your house’s air can actually be 2–5 times more unhealthy than the outdoors, according to the EPA. That’s not good for anyone, but it’s especially detrimental for loved ones with allergies, asthma, other respiratory concerns or heart disease.
Let’s discuss some of these everyday contaminants and how you can improve your house’s indoor air quality.
When you envision pollutants, you may think about smog or tobacco smoke. But a lot of substances that impact your air quality are normal substances. These things have chemicals called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.
They include:
Other everyday pollutants include:
Some people are more influenced by VOCs than others. The EPA says symptoms of VOC exposure entail:
In bad situations, the EPA says VOCs are linked to respiratory and heart diseases.
It isn’t hard to boost your house’s air quality. Here are several ideas from Harvard Medical School:
Regularly cleaning and washing surfaces that attract allergens, including furniture, carpet and bedding, will help decrease on dust, dust mites and pet dander in your home.
This essential filter keeps your home comfy and air fresh. How often you should change your air filter depends on the kind of filter you use. Flat filters should be replaced every month, while pleated filters should be replaced every three months. If you’re unsure if your filter should be replaced, remove it and tilt it to the light. Get a new one if you can’t see light through it.
If someone in your residence deals with allergies or asthma, we suggest having a filter with a better MERV rating. The bigger the number this is, the better your filter is at getting rid of contaminants.
Keep fresh air moving by opening windows whenever the temperature allows. We also suggest running exhaust fans in your bathroom and kitchen frequently to get rid of pollutants and draw in more fresh air.
From whole-home air purifiers, Climate Control Service Experts has a resolution to help your household breathe better. We’ll help you choose the ideal option during your free home comfort assessment. Contact us at 251-202-7503 to schedule yours now!
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