The air you breathe in your home has a tremendous impact on your health and overall well-being. Keeping your indoor air pure and clean will make your house feel like a safe place to come home to.
You may think your well-sealed home is safe from pollutant particles, but it can often become saturated with dust, dander, and mold. That's why you should be increasingly aware of your home air quality.
The best way to achieve clean air indoors is to consider a whole-house approach to treating the air in your home. Learn more here about the health, safety, and comfort benefits you'll enjoy when you take the steps to improve indoor air quality.
12 Efficient Ways to Improve HVAC Indoor Air Quality
Your indoor air quality can have a huge impact on your overall health and comfort. According to the , poor indoor air quality has been linked to aggravating symptoms ranging from dry eyes, sinus congestion, fatigue and nausea to chronic infections and asthma.
Fortunately, there are a variety of ways you can improve your indoor air quality and give your family cleaner, safer indoor air to breathe.
1. Install a UV Light Air Cleaner
Ultraviolet (UV) air cleaners improve air quality not with filtration but with ultraviolet rays that destroy microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, and mold. Installed directly into your ductwork, UV air cleaners can dramatically minimize germs inside your HVAC system, dramatically reducing the amount of unclean air delivered throughout your home.
Call ARS/Rescue Rooter for more information and a quote for your own UV system.
2. Use a Whole House Dehumidifier
Your air conditioner is only designed to regulate temperature, not humidity. If you live in an area with high humidity levels, consider investing in a whole-house dehumidifier to maintain comfortable conditions, while preventing mold, mildew, and dampness.
Experts can install a dehumidifier into your home's HVAC system and ductwork. Once installed, the dehumidifier effectively pulls water vapor out of the air before circulating it into your living space.
3. Use a Whole House Humidifier
In some areas, humidity levels are very low, which can lead to other health issues like dry, itchy skin and static electricity. Using a whole-house humidifier helps control indoor humidity and prevents these problems.
A humidifier simply injects humidity into your home's air in the form of water vapor and distributes it through your ducts and vents. And unlike small portable humidifiers (or pots of boiling stove water), whole-house humidifiers control humidity levels throughout your home, not just in one room.
4. Avoid Smoke
Try to keep your home smoke-free. Obviously, this means you shouldn't allow tobacco smoking inside, but that also applies to other sources of smoke, like candles, incense, and even barbeque grills, if their smoke is drawn into the house.
If you must use a fireplace or wood-burning stove in your home, make sure it's properly ventilated and regularly cleaned.
5. Keep the Home Clean
Clean floors, shelves, and countertops regularly so dust, allergens, and other pollutants won't have a chance to become airborne again.
Use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter so it will effectively suck up particles for the best results, and avoid using cleaners with VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) when possible.
6. Groom Pets Regularly
Your pets regularly shed and drop dander particles that can irritate your airways as you breathe. Cut their hair and bathe them often to minimize dander in your home.
If you have a pet without hair or dander, like a reptile or bird, they still can shed skin or feather particles that could circulate in your air. For any pet, keep them and their space clean to improve your indoor air quality.
7. Use Home Filters
Your HVAC system is meant to have filters in place to catch particles before they circulate into your home. Use a HEPA filter on your HVAC system and clean or replace it per the manufacturer's recommendations.
If you do not change filters often enough, they can become clogged, leading to inefficient air flow and possibly higher utility bills.
8. Schedule Regular HVAC Maintenance
The best way to keep your air clean is to keep your HVAC system in the best condition. Clogged filters and grungy air ducts hurt not only your indoor air quality but also the efficiency of your heating and cooling systems. You should have your HVAC equipment and air ducts cleaned, sanitized, and inspected regularly.
Try scheduling maintenance visits at least once a year, but preferably twice. Call us today and set up an appointment! Our professionals can inspect your whole system and make sure you'll keep getting the clean air you deserve.
9. Get an Air Purifier
An air purifier acts as a special filtering system to get rid of unwanted particles in your home. A small one or even a whole home system installed by ARS professionals will keep your air clean.
10. Add House Plants
House plants naturally filter carbon dioxide out of the air and release oxygen. They can also absorb and filter out toxins and add moisture to the air. Having a few houseplants throughout your house will not only serve as a great addition to your decor, but it will also leave you breathing easier.
11. Keep Pollutants Outside
Many substances can release invisible scents or particles that could possibly harm your lungs or negatively affect indoor air quality. To avoid this, keep things like paint and cleaning supplies in your garage instead of inside your home.
12. Proper Ventilation
Airflow ensures that air full of toxins, pollutants, and carbon dioxide can escape outside while clean air can easily come out of your vents. To make sure you have the right airflow in your home, schedule a visit from one of our technicians who can examine your home and air systems.
The Benefits of Improving Indoor Air Quality
Air quality can have a massive lasting impact on the comfort and health of everyone in your home. The benefits of improving your indoor air quality include:
- Lung Health: Airborne contaminants get inhaled and can lead to coughs and colds. Clean air is especially important for people with asthma or other lung-related issues.
- Allergy Control: Clean air means there's a lower chance of allergens circulating in the home and causing allergic reactions.
- Skin Health: Pollutants in the air can irritate and dry out skin, leading to rashes and itchiness.
- Smell: Clean air won't have contaminant particles, so your home will always smell fresh and clean.
- Cleanliness: Clean indoor air prevents dust from quickly accumulating on tables and floors, meaning your home will be clean, and you won't have to pull out a duster often.
- Energy Efficiency: Clean air implies your system has effective filters. These also mean your air system will work well and circulate air as intended.
- Protects Vulnerable Groups: Many immune-compromised people suffer when there is poor air quality. Clean air will protect growing children and older adults from getting sick or having air-related issues.
Improving your indoor air quality is crucial to your comfort and safety in your home. If you want to see these benefits, it's time to call ARS/Rescue Rooter.
Choose ARS for Your Indoor Air Quality Solutions Services
Don't compromise your air quality. Get the clean indoor air you need with the best filters and HVAC system around. ARS/Rescue Rooter technicians can get the job done right in record time so you can breathe easy.
Call us today at 866-399-2885 or set up an appointment online to get started on your journey to achieving the best indoor air quality you can.
