Homes 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 energy costs, it’s not so fantastic for your indoor air quality.
As air has reduced chances to escape, contaminants can increase and impact your residence’s indoor air quality. In actuality, your house’s air can actually be 2–5 times worse 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 review some of these everyday contaminants and how you can improve your residence’s indoor air quality.
When you picture pollutants, you may think about smog or tobacco smoke. But lots of substances that impact your air quality are everyday substances. These things contain chemicals called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.
They involve:
Other everyday pollutants include:
Some people are more affected by VOCs than others. The EPA says symptoms of VOC exposure entail:
In bad instances, the EPA says VOCs can lead to respiratory and heart diseases.
It isn’t hard to boost your residence’s air quality. Here are a few ideas from Harvard Medical School:
Regularly cleaning and washing surfaces that attract allergens, including furniture, carpet and bedding, will help reduce on dust, dust mites and pet dander in your residence.
This essential filter keeps your residence comfy and air clean. How often you should change your air filter depends on the kind of filter you have. 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 household deals with allergies or asthma, we suggest having a filter with a better MERV rating. The higher the number this is, the better your filter is at eliminating 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, Falso Service Experts has a fix to help your household breathe better. We’ll help you find the ideal option during your free home comfort assessment. Reach us at 315-313-6531 to book yours now!
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