There’s often more to having a clean home than meets the eye. What about the air you’re breathing? Chances are you’ve given little thought to how many ways the quality of air in your home can degrade. Read on for some tips on how to improve indoor air quality in different parts of your home with these four tactics.
Ventilation
Ventilation is the best way to get fresh air into your home and move out stale air that may contain mold spores, pet dander, pollen or volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Install exhaust ventilation to diminish moisture that can lead to mold over kitchen range hoods and in bathrooms. If you can’t install ventilation, crack a window open.
Ventilation can also get rid of VOCs off-gassed by chemicals stored in the cabinets of the kitchen, bathroom and laundry room, and by pressed wood products elsewhere. Make sure combustion appliances throughout the home are properly vented to exhaust carbon monoxide.
Good Quality Air Filter
If you’re using a cheap fiberglass air filter in your HVAC system, it’s doing little to improve the air quality throughout your home. A quality air filter with a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) of 8 to 12 can capture most pollutants that aggravate allergies.
Radon Sealant
Radon gas can seep up from the ground under your home. Hire a professional to test for this gas, which can cause cancer. If it’s detected in harmful levels, consider installing a radon-resistant seal in crawl spaces and basements.
Dehumidifier
If the humidity in your home is over 50 percent, your A/C isn’t keeping up with it, and you have conditions that can lead to mold. Whole-house dehumidifiers are installed with the indoor unit of the A/C and use the condensate line to drain away excess moisture.
For more on how to improve indoor air quality, or for other HVAC services, contact the pros at Luxury Air at (936) 247-2530.
