Without even thinking about it, you might naturally assume the air inside your home is better than the air outside. It makes sense, right? Your home isn’t filled with automobile emissions, pollen, and other things—man-made or natural—that taint our outdoor air.
That is correct, but not entirely right. Our indoor air is full of its own batch of contaminants, ranging from germs that we bring inside, chemicals from cleaning supplies and furniture, and more. Worst of all, the air in our home rarely gets exchanged for new air, leaving us with stale and dry air.
Luckily, there are a few steps you can take to get better air quality.
1. Sealing AC Ducts
After a few years of use, central AC ducts may become subject to leaks, tears, and disconnects. This leads to air being lost in the attic, never fully reaching the rooms of your home and forcing the AC to work harder. However, this alone won’t fix your air quality.
- Another problem caused by duct leaks is that they can pull in dirty and contaminated air.
If you’ve been up in your attic or crawl space, then you’d know that there is plenty of dust and dirt up there. Getting the ducts sealed will close all the holes, preventing them from sucking in that dirty air and spreading it through the home.
- Plus, creating an airtight seal around your entire duct system will ensure that the air is circulating efficiently, which will make steps two and three all the more effective.
2. Removing Bad Air With An Exhaust Fan Installation
Next, you’ll need to work toward physically removing bad air from the home. One way you can do this, without having to open the window, is to install an exhaust fan.
- These fans can be placed around key points in the home to effectively remove moisture, smells, contaminants, and smoke.
After having your ducts sealed, that should help prevent your exhaust fans from having to work needlessly. Exhaust fans are great for removing the moisture from rooms like your bathrooms, thus preventing the growth and spread of bacteria.
3. Purifying the Air
With the ducts sealed and bad air actively being removed, the rest of the air will still need to be treated. The best way we can think of doing this is with an air purifier.
Depending on which kinds of contaminants you want to get rid of, there are two types of air purifiers for the job. It wouldn’t hurt to check with an indoor air quality professional—a standard of any air conditioning service in Tigard, OR—to help you make a decision by testing the air quality.
- Electric air purifiers can effectively remove any non-living contaminants in the air, like those found in chemicals, pollen and pet dander, and dust.
- On the other hand, a UV air purifier will work specifically for microorganisms that can leave your family susceptible to illness.
Either will go a long way in improving indoor air quality, but you should go with the one that makes the most sense for your unique air quality problems.
Ready to Improve Air Quality in Your Home?
Want cleaner air in your home? Contact Western Heating & Cooling today! We offer a number of HVAC and indoor air quality services from a team of qualified heating and cooling technicians.