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How to Improve Indoor Air Quality in My Home

Today, the average American spends about 90 percent of their time indoors. Despite this fact, most of us don’t ever think about the quality of the air we’re breathing inside, which can be much more polluted than the air outside. Indoor air pollution is a serious issue, and one that can have a significant impact on our health. Welsch Heating & Cooling shares how to improve indoor air quality to help you combat this important home issue.

The Importance of Indoor Air Quality

There’s a lot of talk about how to improve indoor air quality, but many people don’t know why it’s so important. The air inside a home or building can be two to five times more polluted than the air circulating outside, and this is due to the closed environment indoors. In modern homes, we often focus on keeping things sealed up tight to improve energy efficiency, but doing so cuts off the natural ventilation that keeps fresh outdoor air moving in and stale, polluted air moving out.

Poor air quality indoors is often an invisible problem, but exposure to pollutants in the home has a very real impact. High concentrations of air pollutants like pollen and dust mites can exacerbate allergy and asthma symptoms. Mold in the air can spread and grow in the home, damaging the structure, its contents, and affecting your health. Exposure to poor indoor air quality can create flu-like symptoms, and long-term exposure to certain contaminants can cause serious respiratory issues and other health problems.

How to Improve Indoor Air Quality

There are many methods for how to improve indoor air quality that can be helpful at home. Making improvements starts with controlling sources of pollution, bringing fresh air into the home, and equipping your home with the right tools to reduce indoor air pollutants.

Control Pollution at the Source

The best way to improve indoor air quality is by controlling pollution at its source. Identify various sources of air pollution inside your home and determine what you can do to keep these contaminants out. Some common source control methods include:

  • Use doormats at entrances to wipe off shoes
  • Take shoes off when entering the home
  • Change clothing and even shower upon entering the home after being outside during peak times for pollen and other allergens
  • Wash linens regularly
  • Have all fuel-burning appliances are properly serviced and adjusted to reduce emissions
  • Switch to natural cleaners and air fresheners instead of chemical products
  • Allow new furniture and building materials to off-gas outdoors before you bring it inside
  • Prohibit smoking indoors
  • Install carbon monoxide detectors to alert you of its presence
  • Have your home tested for radon, lead, asbestos, and other toxins, and mitigate these hazards in the home

Boost Household Ventilation

You can better the air quality inside by improving ventilation in the home. Ventilation helps replace the home’s air supply with fresh air to eliminate air pollutants.

  • Open windows and doors when it is nice outside and your air conditioning is off
  • Use exhaust fans whenever you cook, shower, or do other daily tasks that create heat and moisture
  • Use whole house fans and ventilation systems if you have them to bring in fresh air

Install New Air Filters

You can reduce indoor air pollution by simply changing the air filter in your HVAC system. While the filter’s purpose is to keep particles out of heating and cooling equipment, it also plays a role to help keep indoor air pollutants out of the home. When air filters are filled with contaminants, they are no longer able to trap new pollutants. In fact, they can actually end up adding to your indoor air quality problems.

Air filters need to be replaced on a regular basis. We recommend that you check your filters each month to assess their condition – don’t simply follow the recommended replacement schedule for the type of filter you use. Replace the filter whenever you find the surface filled with particles.

Indoor Air Quality Equipment That Can Help

An important method for how to improve indoor air quality is to use your HVAC system to help the mission. There are indoor air quality products that work with the home’s comfort equipment to treat air as it circulates through the system for conditioning.

Welsch Heating & Cooling installs the following indoor air quality products that help control moisture levels and pollutants for a more comfortable home:

  • Whole-home humidifiers add humidity to the air supply to help you avoid dry air issues. Dry air can cause health issues similar to the common cold and damage your home.
  • Air cleaners deliver advanced filtration to remove particle pollutants from the air supply
  • Whole Home Dehumidifiers remove humidity in the summertime to keep relative humidity below the threshold where mold can grow.

Call Welsch to Improve Indoor Air Quality Today

Improving indoor air quality will help you create a healthier, more comfortable home environment for your loved ones. Welsch Heating & Cooling provides indoor air quality services for homeowners in St. Louis and St. Charles areas – contact us today to learn more.

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Welsch did a great job installing our outdoor a/c unit and replacing the coil. Quick, professional, polite and treated my fiancé with respect. Really appreciate the work they did.

Mike M.

The team did a great job and provided exactly what we needed for our home.

Mike P.

I wanted to inform you that (the city) just completed the inspection of the two systems installed by Welsch.  The inspector noted that the installation was a first rate job.  I, too, would like to thank you and the entire Welsch Team for a very professional installation from start to...

Dick O.

The furnace went out during a cold snap in March. Welsch was here with different options available from repair to a new unit. We opted for a new air conditioner and heater as the old one was close to 15 years old. They were competitive with other dealers so we...

Jean P.

They did a great job on installation of new duct work & installing furnace with new outdoor unit.

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