Written on: June 18, 2021
Warm weather brings us rewards — and challenges. If you’re having difficulty keeping your home healthy and comfortable, call us. We can help!
You can greatly improve your home’s indoor air quality by making some simple lifestyle choices and a couple of smart investments.
You may sometimes forget to change the air filter on your furnace or air conditioning system and that can negatively impact your indoor air quality. Check your HVAC filter about once a month and change or clean it as needed. This is especially important if someone in your home has a respiratory condition, or if you have pets. In these situations, you may need to change or clean the filter more frequently.
Professional maintenance for your heating or cooling system will keep your equipment working well, your air circulating properly and humidity levels under control. If you haven’t scheduled your annual HVAC maintenance service yet this year, contact us today to make an appointment.
Consider installing indoor air quality (IAQ) equipment such as an air purification system. This IAQ solution safely removes the risks of many airborne and surface bacteria, mold spores and viruses. It also eliminates cooking odors. A whole house humidification system is also recommended.
Many cleaning and personal care products use scent as a way to make them more attractive. But the scents added to products like air fresheners, soaps, detergents, all-purpose cleaners and other products can result in hundreds of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) being released into your home.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, VOCs can create health problems ranging from throat, eye and nose irritation to dizziness to even liver or kidney damage. Make an effort to use unscented products. You can still add a pleasant smell to your home with essential oils and a diffuser.
TIP: The EPA offers a Safer Choice guide for finding better cleaning options that won’t harm your indoor air quality — or you. To learn more, visit EPA.gov/saferchoice.
Humidity can create all sorts of problems. If the air is too humid during the summer, it can encourage the growth and spread of mold. Research has shown that molds can trigger asthma attacks, allergic reactions, and even lung infections in people with chronic lung disease or compromised immune systems.
Houseplants are nature’s air filter. Studies have shown that plants can remove formaldehyde, benzene, and other toxins from the air and replace them with oxygen. Some good choices for clearing the air include bamboo palm, Chinese evergreen, English ivy, ficus, gerbera, Golden Pothos, peace lily, philodendron, pot mum, and spider plants.
Planning a home improvement project? Use products that are low-VOC and mold resistant, such as fiberglass-covered drywall or gypsum board and low-VOC paint.
We all love our hobbies, but some of them use some pretty toxic materials. If you plan to strip paint, use adhesives or do any other activities that expose you to harmful vapors, be sure to do it in a well-vented room — or better yet, work outside whenever possible.
Our IAQ experts will be glad to help improve the air quality in your home. Contact us today to learn more.
As the days of uncertainty linger on, there’s still one thing we know for sure. It’s going to get hot sometime this summer.
So the last thing you want is for your cooling system to shut down on a hot, steamy day.
If you’ve had your system checked out this spring already and your service technician gave it a thumbs-up, then you should be all set to beat the heat.
But if you’re relying on an old system that uses outdated R22 refrigerant, you risk a summer breakdown, not to mention high repair costs. An older system will also drain more electricity, making your cooling costs higher than they should be.
A new high-efficiency system could cut your cooling costs in half — and eliminate the expense and annoyance of breakdowns — while keeping your home more comfortable, no matter how high the mercury soars.
Our cooling experts can evaluate your needs and help you choose a cooling system that’s the right size for your home.
To protect your investment in a new system, we recommend that you enroll in our cooling service plan. This ensures that you will get the maintenance that’s required to keep your equipment warranty intact.