The quality of air circulating through your Maryland home plays a direct role in your family’s health and comfort and, surprisingly enough, your household’s energy bills. Indoor air quality issues affect all members of your household. In this blog, the HVAC technicians at Grove Heating & Cooling discuss ways to improve indoor air quality with effective measures that are simple and affordable.
Why Indoor Air Quality Matters
It used to be that outdoor air pollution was what everyone thought of when the topic of poor air quality came up. As years passed, it became clearer about the negative effects poor indoor air quality and indoor air pollution can have on a person, largely due to heavy exposure.
The average person spends about 90 percent of their time indoors, so you can see why poor air quality indoors could have a negative effect on people.
Plus, indoor air is 2 to 5 times more polluted than outdoor air, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. In the interests of energy efficiency, modern homes and buildings are built “tight” to keep energy in and curb energy waste. While this building philosophy does wonders for energy efficiency, it can be a real detriment to indoor air quality – there’s very little to no natural ventilation to exchange stale air for fresh air and push contaminants and air pollution out of the home.
Top Issues Impacting Home Air Quality & How to Improve It
These issues pose the biggest risk to homeowners and their families when it comes to indoor air quality:
1. Lack of Ventilation
As mentioned above, the modern home receives little to no natural ventilation. Mechanical ventilation systems are not installed in every home, either, as a standard measure. Without ventilation, no fresh air replaces stale air – you’re stuck with the stale air that is laden with contaminants.
Installing a mechanical ventilation system is a smart move toward improving the air in your home. These systems keep fresh air moving through homes and sends polluted air outdoors where it belongs.
2. High Humidity
Too much moisture indoors creates all kinds of concerns. Moisture problems like mold growth and water damage are easy to identify, but what about the problems humidity creates that you cannot see?
When indoor humidity levels exceed the balanced range of 30 to 50 percent, the high moisture content contributes to higher pollution levels. More moisture keeps contaminant particles concentrated, so there are more of these pollutants available to cause health symptoms within our bodies. The moisture also helps viruses and bacteria spread – a clear detriment to a healthy household.
Whole home dehumidifiers are devices installed to address high moisture content in the home’s air. Dehumidifiers remove moisture while air circulates through these systems. These devices are powerful enough to keep relative humidity levels balanced throughout the year.
3. Too Many Pollutants
We introduce several pollutants into the home through our daily activities. There are many different indoor pollutant sources – including dust mites and pet dander – that have the potential to harm us as they float along with our air supply.
Whole home air purifiers are useful in fighting high pollutant levels, as they trap particles circulating through the home’s HVAC system. Some high-efficient air purifiers eliminate up to 99 percent of even the smallest matter!
Improve Your Home’s Indoor Air Quality – Call Grove Heating & Cooling Today
For more information on how to improve indoor air quality or to implement indoor air quality solutions in your Maryland home, contact us. Our experts provide air quality testing in homes and are ready to help you create a healthier home with far fewer contaminants.
