Looking for tips when it comes to improving your indoor air quality?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), on average, Americans spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors. You may think indoor air is cleaner than outdoor air, which contains pollen and other irritants, but did you know that indoor air can contain harmful pollutants like gases and particles?
These particles are difficult to see with the naked eye, but can cause serious health issues like allergies, irritation, and respiratory issues.
Improving indoor air quality is simple. The Harker team can evaluate your home’s indoor air quality and provide solutions that fit your needs. Products like the Aprilaire air purifier filtration system can help reduce odors, common air pollutants, and airborne viruses in your family’s home, creating an affordable and efficient solution to improve indoor air quality.
- Allergies
- Fatigue
- Asthma
- Irritated Skin
- Headaches
- Discomfort
- Lung Irritation
- Home Damage
- Higher Energy Costs
Unfortunately, there is no easy “cure-all” solution (despite what the Sharper Image may tell you). Indoor air quality often requires multiple solutions for multiple problems. Have Harker Heating & Cooling design a system that suits your needs. In the meantime, here are some things you can do to help with your home’s indoor air quality issues:
Problem #1
Problem:
Poor Ventilation
Symptoms:
- Odors – emitted from litter boxes, trash cans, dirty hampers, cooking, smoking, paints and solvents.
- Gases and vapors – emitted from new carpeting, building materials, cleaning supplies, candles, pesticides, personal care products, glues and adhesives.
- Stale and stuffy air – a result of today’s energy efficient “tight” building techniques.
Primary Solution:
Install a Energy Recovery Ventilator
Things you can do to help:
- Store volatile chemicals and cleaning products outside the home.
- Keep litter boxes away from heating and cooling system vents.
- Change your furnace filter according to manufacturer’s recommendations.
- Have your fireplace and/or wood stove periodically cleaned and inspected.
- Clean dryer vents on a regular basis.
- Open windows and doors, as weather permits, to replace indoor air with fresher, outdoor air.
- Before new carpeting is installed, ask your retailer to unroll and air out the carpet in a well-ventilated area. Open windows while carpet is being installed.
- Utilize exhaust fans in bathrooms and ventilation hoods above stove tops.
- Ventilate crawl spaces, attics, hobby and work spaces.
Problem #2
Problem:
Dry Air
Symptoms:
- You experience chronic physical symptoms such as sore throats, dry/itchy skin, nose bleeds or sinus irritation.
- Your home’s wood floors are shrinking and cracking. Joints in wood furniture are becoming loose or failing.
- Wallpaper is peeling, while your paint or plaster is starting to crack.
- Annoying and sometimes painful static shocks are common occurrences.
- Your thermostat is cranked up, as is your energy bill, but you still feel cold.
- Your piano and other musical instruments are falling out of tune.
Primary Solution:
Install a whole-home humidifier
Problem #3
Problem:
Too much humidity
Symptoms:
- Your skin often feels clammy, sweaty or sticky.
- Musty-smelling odors are invading your living space.
- Wood floors, trim or wood furniture is warping or rotting, paint is peeling.
- Condensation, frost or ice have formed on the inside surface of your windows. Water pipes are “sweating”
- Damp spots, or worse, mold and mildew, have formed on ceilings or walls.
- Your allergies or asthma have gotten worse due to the growth of mold, mildew and dust mites.
- Your house is a breeding ground for termites, cockroaches and other pests.
Primary Solution:
Install a whole-home dehumidifier
Things you can do to help:
- Use ventilation fans in kitchens and bathrooms when in use. Ensure that your fans are venting directly outside.
- Cover dirt floor crawl spaces under your house with plastic to act as a vapor barrier.
- Check to make sure your dryer is vented to the outside. Don’t dry wet clothes on drying racks in the house. Air-dry them outdoors if possible.
- Ensure air conditioning drip pans are clean and drain lines unobstructed.
- Fix any water leaks in pipes, toilets, showers, etc.
Problem #4
Problem:
Poor air filtration
Symptoms:
- Airborne pollutants – dust, dust mites, pet hair, dander, pollen, particulates from clothing and furniture.
- Biological contaminants – bacteria, viruses, mold spores, mildew.
- Odors and vapors – tobacco smoke, cooking grease.
Primary Solution:
Install a whole-home air cleaner
Things you can do to help:
- Open windows when weather and other conditions permit.
- Bathe pets regularly and keep pet beds and litter boxes away from vents.
- Change your furnace filter according to manufacturer’s recommendations.
- Run your heating and cooling system blower when vacuuming and dusting to circulate polluted air through your furnace filter.
- Keep relative humidity between 30 and 60 percent.
- Make sure the kitchen, bathroom and other exhaust fans vent to the outside.
The Harker team offers home evaluations and can install systems like the Aprilaire 500 air cleaner, which works as part of your central heating and cooling system.
