7 tips for boosting indoor air quality – Home Improvement Blogs

(BPT) – The arrival of autumn is a fantastic time for property owners to switch batteries in their smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms. And as winter strategies, it is also a great time to make guaranteed that a home’s heating ease and comfort procedure is in very good operating buy and prepared to guidance indoor air top quality.

Specified that Us citizens, on average, invest 90% of their time indoors, the air inside of a residence must not be taken for granted.¹ As October is Indoor Air Top quality Month², the following tips can assist guidance indoor air high quality, even though also supporting to raise ease and comfort and conserve electrical power expenditures.

1. Modify the furnace air filter: Not only will changing the filter regular or as directed by the producer minimize tension on HVAC gear, but a dirty filter may well also improve a home’s energy invoice and lessen indoor air high-quality.³
2. Never forget about the attic: An regular residence loses about 20% to 30% of the air that moves through the duct procedure because of to leaks, holes and inadequately connected ducts.⁴ In addition to letting air moving via the ducts to escape, these gaps can reduce energy efficiency and guide to larger vitality bills. Such breaches can make it possible for dust and particulates in the attic to infiltrate and flow into throughout the residence.
3. Care for the air: Standard support of a home’s HVAC machines can aid detect challenges that may possibly lessen indoor air good quality. An Owens Corning AirCare™ contractor can examine a home’s attic applying instruments that could suggest a trouble with indoor air high-quality. For illustration, thermal imaging technology enables the contractor to visually show the homeowner exactly where energy is currently being dropped and spots the place pollutants or contaminants may perhaps be coming into ductwork.
4. Guarantee attic ventilation: Ventilation supports the movement of air into and out of the attic place. Well balanced intake and outtake vents in the attic alongside with right air sealing assist productive humidity administration all through the home.
5. Deal with humidity: Pursuits in the home like cooking and showering can increase humidity ranges in the household. Turning on cooking vents and lavatory vents helps attract moisture out of a home’s conditioned area. Further than creating prospective circumstances for mold or mildew to develop, permitting humidity to sit on steel surfaces this sort of as ductwork and other HVAC tools can bring about them to rust and corrode.
6. Insulate unconditioned areas: The North American Insulation Suppliers Affiliation has documented that 90% of households are underneath-insulated, throwing away cash, power and lowering convenience.⁵ Enough concentrations of insulation can lead to a more at ease indoor environment.
7. Keep warn to signs of a possible problem: Many clues can counsel that a home’s ductwork could be lessening indoor air quality. Symptoms of a trouble could consist of musty smells, mold or mildew around vents, condensation on HVAC tools, incredibly hot or cold spots in the course of the property, and an maximize in dust in the indoor surroundings.

References:

¹ EPA Indoor Air Quality Exposure and Investigate. (n.d., site up-to-date Jan. 27, 2022). U.S. EPA. Retrieved from Indoor Air Quality Publicity and Characterization Investigation | US EPA

² Countrywide Indoor Air High quality Consciousness Thirty day period Methods. (n.d.). Indoor Air Quality Affiliation (iaqa.org). Retrieved from https://iaqa.org/nationwide-indoor-air-high-quality-recognition-thirty day period-sources/

³ NATE – Comply with These Ideas for Vitality-Successful Functionality. Home Maintenance Recommendations. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.natex.org

⁴ Duct Sealing. (n.d.). Power Star. Retrieved from Duct Sealing | Electrical power STAR

⁵ “North American Insulation Makers Affiliation, Sept. 30, 2015. (90 Percent of U.S. Homes Are Beneath-insulated.)

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