Why an Energy-Efficient Home Can
Influence Air Quality and How to Make It Better
Homes today are designed with energy efficiency in mind. This includes more insulation and tightly sealed doors and windows to keep utility expenses down. While this is good for your energy expenses, it’s not so good for your indoor air quality.
Since air has reduced chances to escape, chemicals can accumulate and affect your residence’s indoor air quality. In reality, your home’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 conditions or heart disease.
Let’s review some of these everyday pollutants and how you can improve your residence’s indoor air quality.
6 Common Pollutants that Affect Indoor Air Quality
When you visualize pollutants, you might think about smog or tobacco smoke. But a lot of substances that affect your air quality are everyday products. These things include chemicals known as volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.
They involve:
- Cleaning products, like aerosol sprays, bleach and window cleaner.
- Personal care products, such as hairspray, perfume and nail products.
- Candles and air fresheners.
- Formaldehyde, which is commonly used in plastic, foam and particleboard products.
- Furniture, window treatments and carpet, specifically when they’re brand new.
- Paints and stains.
Other everyday pollutants include:
- Dust
- Pet dander
- Pollen
- Mold
Symptoms of VOC Exposure
Some people are more influenced by VOCs than others. The EPA says symptoms of VOC exposure involve:
- Irritated eyes, nose or throat
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
In extreme cases, the EPA says VOCs are linked to respiratory and heart diseases.
4 Ways to Enhance Your Home’s Indoor Air Quality
It isn’t difficult to boost your residence’s air quality. Here are a couple of ideas from Harvard Medical School:
1. Clean Your House Often
Frequently cleaning and washing surfaces that attract allergens, including furniture, carpet and bedding, will help decrease on dust, dust mites and pet dander in your house.
2. Regularly Change Your Air Filter
This important filter keeps your house comfortable and air clean. How often you should change your air filter depends on the kind of filter you use. Flat filters should be replaced each month, while pleated filters should be replaced every three months. If you don’t know if your filter should be changed, pull it out and tilt it to the light. Get a new one if you can’t see light through it.
If someone in your home deals with allergies or asthma, we recommend installing a filter with a better MERV rating. The greater the number this is, the better your filter is at getting rid of contaminants.
3. Enhance Natural Ventilation
Keep fresh air circulating by opening windows whenever the weather allows. We also recommend turning on exhaust fans in your bathroom and kitchen frequently to get rid of pollutants and draw in more fresh air.
4. Talk with Our Indoor Air Quality Pros
From whole-home air purifiers, A1 Chesney Service Experts has a solution to help your family breathe better. We’ll help you choose the ideal option during your free home comfort assessment. Reach us at 587-315-5271 to schedule yours right away!
