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Most people are aware of the pollution and contaminants that are present in the air outside. However, did you know that the air inside your home may be unhealthier than the outside air? Several issues can plague your indoor air quality. Atticman Heating and Air Conditioning, Insulation can help you determine what the quality of your indoor air is and how you can improve it.
Outdoor Air Quality
The quality of air outdoors can be impacted by things like pollen, vehicle emissions, and nearby factories. Pollution can linger in the air for long periods, especially during certain types of weather conditions. Not to mention, this pollution is harmful to our planet.
Humid air tends to hold onto contaminants easily, so you’ll see the air quality outside decrease in the hot summer months when humidity is at its highest. Levels of ozone are also a concern, causing respiratory issues in sensitive populations.
There are days of the year when you’ll see air quality warnings for the area where you live. This means there is a high prevalence of particulate matter or ozone in that area. Wildfire smoke is a common outdoor air quality culprit. Measurements are taken periodically throughout the day, providing up-to-date data. Exposing yourself to poor outdoor air quality can increase your risk of breathing issues, heart problems, and other symptoms.
You can’t control the amount of pollution that is in the air outside your home, but you can keep that air from coming inside where it can impact your health and well-being.
Indoor Air Quality
The quality of your indoor air can be impacted by several factors. Dust and dust mites are irritating to sinuses and airways. They can also make your skin feel itchy and cause a rash. Cleaning the surfaces in your home can help reduce dust and dust mites, but some particulates will remain in your indoor air. As you run your HVAC equipment, these particulates will circulate.
Pollen from outside can make its way indoors on your clothing, shoes and through gaps and cracks around your windows and doors. You’ll want to keep your home closed on days when the pollen levels outside are high. Make sure you shower upon coming into the house. If you need to air out your home, make sure you do so when the pollen levels are low. This is usually the first thing in the morning or late at night.
Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs for short, are chemicals that can be extremely dangerous. They are off-gassed from things like paint, countertops, flooring, new furniture, chemical-based cleaning products, and air fresheners. They can cause allergy symptoms, asthma attacks, shortness of breath, headaches, and increase your risk of cancer.
Mold spores are an indoor air quality contaminant that can be extremely dangerous. Once these spores make their way into your HVAC system, they can quickly spread and grow throughout your entire home. This can result in symptoms like a runny nose, headache, coughing, frequent infections, and systemic inflammation.
If you have pets in the home, they can leave their dander and fur behind everywhere they go. This can impact your indoor air quality greatly. You should keep up with the regular grooming of your pets and make sure they are bathed regularly.
Cigarette smoke is a very dangerous indoor air quality issue. You should eliminate any smoking in the home. If you do have someone that smokes in your residence, make sure you ventilate properly. Use activated carbon filters to remove the smoke and odors from your indoor air. These advanced air filters and purifiers work well to remove cooking odors from your indoor air as well.
Improving Indoor Air Quality
Luckily, there are several steps you can take to improve the quality of your indoor air. This includes simple household cleaning tasks, properly ventilating your home each day, as well as investing in whole-house filtration equipment.
Whole-House Air Filtration and Purification
You may already have portable air filtration devices throughout your home. These units are beneficial, but they don’t address much more than 400 to 500 square feet in one hour. The other rooms in your home that are far away from your purifier will remain untouched for the most part. However, you can invest in a whole-house air purifier that will filter all the air circulating through your HVAC system. That means cleaner and healthier air throughout your home.
These filtration units can be equipped with different types of filters, depending on what your indoor air quality concerns are. High-efficiency particulate air filters, or HEPA for short, can be used to remove as much as 99.97% of the particulate matter in your home. These filters are somewhat restrictive because of their optimal filtering abilities, so they are usually used in a purifier rather than in your furnace. Whole-house fan installation is another way to improve your air quality by continually moving stale indoor air to the outside without losing heat or air conditoning.
Considering Your Furnace Filter
The filter in your furnace can remove large particulates from your indoor air. There will still be smaller particulates left behind. In most homes, particulate matter circulating through your air is around 0.1 microns in size. Furnace filters only address particulates around 0.3 microns.
You can help support filtration by changing your filters once every 30 to 90 days. The frequency at which you change your filter will depend on things like how often you run your HVAC system, the type of filter you’re using, whether you have pets, etc.
Don’t Forget About Humidity
The level of relative humidity in your indoor air should always remain between 35% and 50%, regardless of the time of year. If you have very dry air in your home, this can irritate your sinuses and lead to an increase in infections and allergy symptoms. If you have very humid air, this can promote the growth of mold. Humid air can also damage wood flooring, the framework of your home, and furniture.
You can remove moisture from your indoor air by using a whole-house dehumidifier. This equipment is installed onto your HVAC system, removing moisture from the air that’s circulating through your entire home. The moisture will be moved through a drainage system.
You can add moisture back into your home using a whole-house humidifier. This is installed on your HVAC system as well. Water will evaporate and be circulated into your indoor air as your heating and cooling equipment functions.
You can control both types of equipment using your thermostat. A smart thermostat can provide you with accurate readings for how much moisture is in your air. Humid air can hold onto more particulates, worsening an already bad indoor air quality problem. Humid air can also feel very oppressive and uncomfortable, which can diminish the ambiance of your residence.
Atticman Heating and Air Conditioning, Insulation can assist with all your Sacramento, CA indoor air quality needs. We can install whole-house air purification devices to help purify your indoor air. We can also upgrade your home’s insulation to provide a tighter barrier between your home and the outside. Contact Atticman Heating and Air Conditioning, Insulation to schedule an appointment today.
