Is your family breathing clean indoor air?
With COVID-19 lockdowns, you’re likely spending a lot more time inside. Add to that the upcoming winter weather that will surely persuade you to stay in the comfort of your home.
Understanding how poor indoor air quality can negatively impact your health will help you make an informed decision on what to do next. In the short term, poor air quality could cause irritation to your eyes, throat, and nose, along with persistent headaches, dizziness, and fatigue.
If you continue to live in an environment with substandard air quality, the long-term effects aren’t as treatable as those short-term symptoms. Instead, you could experience the damaging impacts of respiratory diseases such as asthma or more life-threatening issues like cancer.
The good news is that you won’t be left in the dark about fixing your air quality issues. Now that you know the potential health hazards, let’s go over the causes and solutions to poor indoor air quality.
Leading Causes of Poor Indoor Air Quality
You may be surprised at the many seemingly insignificant factors that lead to poor air quality in your home. It’s often the things that go unnoticed in your daily life that could be making the most substantial impact.
Some sources of pollution that will degrade your indoor air quality are:
- Fuel-burning appliances, like gas stoves and dryers
- Tobacco products that cause carcinogenic secondhand smoke
- Certain building materials that may contain asbestos or otherwise increase air contaminants
- Household cleaning and beauty products, especially those in spray bottles
- Poorly maintained HVAC systems that require new filters
- Excess moisture from outdoor humidity or other sources
- Outdoor air pollution, a known problem in Southern California
Now, you don’t have to eliminate every one of these toxic sources in order to breathe fresh air. While removing or reducing the pollutant sources would be beneficial, there are ways to clean the air without changing your habits.
To increase your home’s air quality, sometimes it can be as simple as maintaining your HVAC unit. Routine maintenance is high on our recommendations list for anyone living in Southern California where we deal with an excess of outdoor air pollution.
The Truth About Air Pollution in Southern California
Earlier this year, ozone pollution reached record highs
in Los Angeles and other parts of Southern California. These are levels that haven’t been seen in 26 years.
Between the ongoing smog and emissions problems recognized in the area, air quality isn’t getting any better—at least not any time soon. That’s not to mention the recent California wildfires that have only added to the air pollution problem.
You may not have a choice but to breathe polluted air while outdoors, but why allow the problem to persist in your home? You sleep for about one-third of your life and owe it to your health to ensure the air you’re breathing during those hours is pollutant-free.
Up to 50% of illnesses are either caused or worsened by poor indoor air quality. Without taking the appropriate steps to eliminate air pollutants, you could experience long-term health issues.
Without a firm understanding of what is causing your poor indoor air quality, you can’t be sure of what to do to eliminate the problem. It all starts with a professional inspection of your home’s systems. From there, you will have the option of taking advantage of any number of air quality solutions.
Steps to Improve Your Indoor Air Quality
Improving your indoor air quality requires action on your part. Several solutions are viable, surefire ways to keep the air in your home clean.
Take advantage of local professionals who can help by:
- Installing an Air Scrubber, an air purification product that reduces dust, odor, and approximately 90% of airborne contaminants
- Scheduling routine maintenance of your HVAC system to ensure the filtration and ductwork are properly installed and cleaned
- Hiring a professional to check your home’s potential air leaks around windows and doors, or less noticeable places like floorboards, attics, and crawl spaces.
- Having your ventilation system(s) checked to reduce the number of contaminants entering your home and increase the amount that is filtered out of your home
- Upgrading to HEPA (high efficiency) filters if they won’t cause undue stress on your HVAC unit; or, choose polyester and pleated air filters instead of the less-effective fiberglass filter
- Utilizing air cleaning products, including those that use either UV light or ionization technologies, which are useful in reducing COVID-19 transmission
In other articles, you may have seen how problems like air duct leakage could lead to poor indoor air quality. If there’s a single pro tip to recommend, it’s to have all your heating, air conditioning, and ventilation systems checked regularly.
Eliminating the problem before system replacement is necessary will save you thousands of dollars and give you and your family the peace of mind that the air you’re breathing won’t harm you.
Take Control of Your Indoor Air Quality
Now that you understand the harm brought on by poor indoor air quality, it’s time to act. Before you begin to experience the short-term or long-term effects associated with air pollution, you can follow the above-listed steps to guarantee your home is free of harmful pollutants.
While living in Southern California has its many perks, the air pollution from wildfires, smog, and emissions can seriously impact your home’s air quality. Creating a “protective bubble” with proper insulation and filtration will keep polluted air out, making your home comfortable and safe year-round.
Home Comfort USA is happy to be your one-stop provider for all things related to air quality. You can rely on us every step of the way, from installing a new HVAC system to performing routine repairs and maintenance. We also offer Air Scrubber technology to improve your home’s air quality instantly.
Here at Home Comfort, your family’s health and safety is our top priority. Please let us know how we can best serve you. We’re here to answer all your questions.
Protect yourself from invisible toxins and improve the air quality in your home today.
