Indoor Air Quality: Improve the Air in Your Home

Indoor Air Quality in your home is vital to your respiratory health, especially if you have asthma or allergies. Did you know that 87% of Americans are not aware that the air in their home is more polluted than the air outside? Are you one of them?

Indoor air pollution is one of the five most urgent environmental problems in the U.S. according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Fortunately, there are steps you can take to clean up your indoor air quality, especially if you're in or around a busy community like the Ann Arbor/ Ypsilanti area. Consider the following:

• Install a humidifier and track and control the humidity in your home with a hygrometer
• Keep your house clean and dust often
• Try to limit the amount of biological allergens that enter your home (pollen, dust mites, pet dander, mold, etc.)
• Increase ventilation - most homes have numerous exhaust fans such as in the bathroom and kitchen… use them!
• Improve air filtration – change the air filters in your ducts and make sure appliances like your washer and dryer are properly ventilated outside

Does your home tend to stay stuffy? If so, you might want to consider adding a whole-house ventilation system apart from your existing forced-air heating and cooling system to improve the overall indoor air quality. Most standard forced air systems work by sucking air in from a register or vent, and forcing it out through another. Unfortunately, most of these systems do not include a ventilation system that pulls in FRESH air from outside.

Improving filtration will also help to improve your home’s indoor air quality. Electrostatic and extended-surface air filters can be installed to work with your forced air heating and cooling systems. With these filters in place, you’ll be sure to capture the maximum amount of airborne allergens and bacteria and greatly improve the indoor air quality of your home.

Humidifiers and Indoor Air Quality

Another component that can easily be added to your existing heating and cooling system that will help improve the air quality in your home is a humidifier. The fact is that people need a certain level of humidity to stay comfortable. In the colder months, the level of humidity drops significantly and can dry out your skin and mucous membranes and also make the air feel cooler than it actually is. Humidifiers can be installed as a small portable unit or can be connected to your furnace and ductwork for whole-house humidity control. Installing a humidifier will raise the humidity in your home and help keep you, your family, and guests more comfortable.

If you’re ready to improve the health of everyone in your home, call Climate-Tech Heating and Cooling and have us assess your indoor air quality. Also, if you’re building a new home in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Superior Township, Saline, Milan, Canton, Westland, Belleville or any Michigan (MI) community in between, we can install an indoor air quality system and you can save big! Since the job is a little easier on us, we'll make the price a little easier on you. Contact us today!