A Healthy Home Has Great Indoor Air Quality

A Healthy Home Has Great Indoor Air Quality

How to Achieve the Best Indoor Air Quality

With the coming of Fall, a new allergy season approaches; this time, it will be ragweed season. In the Winter, mold spores are prevalent because of the moisture (theoretically anyway). In the Spring, it is tree pollen, and, in the Summer, grass pollen takes over.

Most of us love being outdoors, which makes our homes and vehicles a “clean air” refuge. For that reason, maintaining indoor air quality is very important. Here are a few steps towards improving air quality in your home.

Balance

An important aspect of indoor air quality is recirculating the volume of air inside your home. Without circulation, pollutants generated by normal household materials and activities will accumulate. Outdoor air dilutes the amount of these pollutants trapped inside your home.

However, the outdoor air also contains large quantities of pollen, spores, and exhaust; some of these outdoor pollutants cause more severe allergic reactions than the pollutants indoors. This balance is individual with each home but balancing the indoor and outdoor air quality is very important.

Regular Cleaning

That might sound a little odd, but many of the airborne particles that float around in your indoor air end up falling to various surfaces—floors, furniture, bedding, and ceiling fans. Definitely ceiling fans!

Families understand the importance of regular house cleaning but might not associate it with indoor air quality. Every bit of dust, pollen, and dander removed from the floor with a mop or vacuum cleaner is removed from the air permanently. The same is true for grooming, laundry, and dusting.

Air Filters

Every HVAC system is equipped with an air filter; the air pulled from the home is filtered before it is cooled or heated and returned to the home. The filter faithfully removes air particles with each cycle, and, after a few months, the filter can become completely covered. A clogged filter interferes with airflow and the function of both the air conditioner and heater.

Therefore, an important step to improve air quality is to change the air filter regularly—at least every three months. Changing the filter removes a large amount of dust permanently from the home.

Air filters are manufactured to capture a percentage of airborne particles of a given size. It is tempting to purchase an air filter that captures the smallest particles. However, residential HVAC systems aren’t equipped to use those ultra-fine filters, since they create too much air resistance.

Clean Vents

All that dirty air moves through a network of air ducts, connecting the entire home with the central heating and air conditioning system. Some of the particles find a way to connect to the duct walls and cleaning the ducts removes the airborne particles from the home permanently. How often should you clean vents? It is recommended that vents be cleaned every three to five years.

Regular Maintenance

Another cleaning step is to schedule an annual maintenance cleaning by an HVAC technician. This includes cleaning harder-to-reach areas, including the evaporator chamber, drain line, and condenser coil. This inspection goes well beyond mere cleaning and improves the efficient function of your HVAC system.

Further Steps

If a family has specific health needs concerning air quality, further steps might include adding ultraviolet lights to the ductwork to neutralize organic air particles, such as dust mites and mold spores, or a room air purifier to remove pollutants, including odors, from a designated space.

Need Help Achieving Better Indoor Air Quality, We Can Help!

Schedule your free indoor air quality consultation by calling AllCool AC & Heating at 281-238-9292 or contact us via email and let our NATE-certified HVAC Maintenance and indoor air quality technicians put their experience to work for you.