According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an average American spends roughly 87% of their life indoors. When we spend this much time indoors, there’s much to consider regarding the air we breathe a vast majority of the day. While it may be difficult to make changes to your local supermarket’s indoor air quality, there are steps you can take to alter your in-home air quality. In this article, we’ll highlight a few steps to begin improving indoor air quality for your home. 

Symptoms of Poor Indoor Air Quality

If your home has subpar air quality, there are a few telltale signs. Below, we’ve listed a few ideas of what these consistently seem to be:

• Dryness of the eyes, nose, mouth, and throat
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Sinus congestion
• Coughing and sneezing
• Dizziness

If you or others start to notice these consistent health issues, you should consider having an HVAC company look at the air conditioning or heating units in the home or building.

Since these symptoms can be the same as a cold, the flu or allergies, it is sometimes hard to know if it actually is poor indoor air. There are some ways to discern the difference between getting the flu and indoor air pollution. If you notice the following, your health symptoms could be due to poor indoor air:

• You start to notice a musty smell in the building
• Noticeable mold or mildew
• You feel better when you’re not in your house
• If you always wake up with sinus problems or headaches
• You notice an increase in allergy type symptoms regardless of the weather

The Causes of Indoor Air Pollution

There are various items in a home or business that can contribute to poor indoor air quality. If the building is tightly closed up or the ventilation is not adequate, chemical compounds can build up.

Formaldehyde is one of the most common sources of indoor air pollution. It usually comes from resins used in the manufacturing of particleboard, hardwood plywood, insulation, and other building materials. Other sources of poor indoor air quality include:

• Permanent press fabrics
• Glues and adhesives
• Finishes, lacquer, and paint
• Fabric softeners
• Paper products

All of these different sources can accumulate in your home or office if there isn’t adequate ventilation. Rectifying these issues is necessary to improve your indoor air quality. 

How to Improve Indoor Air Quality

There are a number of ways to freshen the air inside your home or business. Indoor plants are a great way to filter the air. Turning on a ventilation fan like the bathroom or kitchen fans will stir stale air. Opening the windows on occasion can cycle fresh air back into your home. 

Most forced air conditioning systems and heating systems in the home do not bring in fresh air mechanically from outside. Today, new HVAC designs are starting to add mechanical features that will bring outdoor air into the home through the heating and cooling system. Some of these designs will include heat recovery ventilators.

Calling an HVAC Professional

Calling an HVAC professional is probably your best option to ensure clean indoor air. They can maintain and repair your heating and cooling systems so they are operating at peak efficiency. A few of the services an HVAC company can provide that will clean your indoor air include:

• Replace dirty filters
• Clean the condensation pans and drains
• Check for possible leaks
• Clean the AC drain traps
• Clean the evaporator coil

As always, a proper maintenance plan will keep each of these parts functioning properly for as long as possible. With Hammock’s AC, we offer a range of maintenance plan price tiers that can fit almost any budget. 

Call Hammock’s AC

If you have any questions involving how to best cool or heat your home, call Hammock’s AC and speak with one of our seasoned technicians. We can inform, inspect, or repair any cooling or heating system in most cases quickly. We’ll improve your home’s indoor air quality and get your back to the comfort you deserve. To get started, click the link below and fill out one of our quote forms.