Homes today are constructed with energy efficiency in mind. This involves added insulation and tightly sealed doors and windows to keep energy costs affordable. While this is good for your heating and cooling costs, it’s not so good for your indoor air quality.
Since 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 more polluted than the outdoors, according to the EPA. That’s not good for anyone, but it’s particularly 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 enhance your residence’s indoor air quality.
When you visualize pollutants, you may think about smog or tobacco smoke. But a lot of substances that impact your air quality are everyday substances. These things include chemicals called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.
They entail:
Other everyday pollutants include:
Some people are more affected by VOCs than others. The EPA says symptoms of VOC exposure entail:
In bad situations, the EPA says VOCs are linked 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, such as furniture, carpet and bedding, will help decrease on dust, dust mites and pet dander in your home.
This essential filter keeps your home cozy and air fresh. How often you should change your air filter depends on the kind of filter you use. Flat filters should be replaced every month, while pleated filters should be replaced every three months. If you’re not sure if your filter should be replaced, pull it out and angle 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 greater 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 bring in more fresh air.
From whole-home air purifiers, Golden Seal Service Experts has a resolution to help your household breathe better. We’ll help you select the right option during your free home comfort assessment. Contact us at 630-246-2698 to book yours now!
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