Many homeowners aren’t aware that the air they breathe inside their house probably is dirtier than the air outside. This may be the case even in urban or dusty areas. Dirty or contaminated indoor air threatens both your quality of life and health.
One of the factors eroding the quality of indoor air is the energy efficiency of modern home-building practices. Modern homes are built to keep the weather out and conditioned air inside. While this is good for your energy bills and the overall environment, it’s bad for indoor air quality. Without proper source reduction, air cleaning and ventilation, household air isn’t going to clean itself.
Fortunately, homeowners have a number of effective options for improving indoor air quality. Following are some effective tips for making your indoor air cleaner and healthier:
Changes to Improve Indoor Air Quality
- Eliminate or reduce sources of pollution in your home, including chemical-based air fresheners and cleaners, pesticides, and products or furniture that emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
- Improve your home’s ventilation. When the weather allows, open windows and doors whenever you can. Year round, use exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathrooms. When your central heating or cooling system isn’t operating, set it to “fan-only” or “on” so the system continues to circulate air. Consider installing a balanced ventilation system such as a Heat or Energy Recovery Ventilator (HRV or ERV).
- Test your home for radon, and install carbon monoxide (CO) detectors. These are potentially life-saving steps.
- Monitor and control humidity. A damp, muggy home, with no working air exchange, will lead to health-threatening mold growth and make you and your family feel uncomfortable. Repair leaks, remove moisture immediately, and consider installing a whole-house dehumidifier.
- Clean your house regularly, to reduce the incidence of contaminants such as pet and human dander, dust mites, bacteria and mold spores.
- Consider a dedicated air-cleaning system to complement the work of your HVAC air filter. Make sure you replace the air filter regularly.
For more advice on how to clean the air in your Dayton-Springfield area home, please contact us at Ace Hardware Home Services.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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