Winter brings a unique challenge to maintaining a healthy indoor air quality in your home. Cold weather sends humans and pets inside, increasing the amount of dander floating around. Your furnace kicks up the dust that helps dust mites flourish, and the dry air makes your family susceptible to sneezing and colds. Maintaining a good IAQ level is critical to your family’s health. Here are three tips to keeping your indoor air healthy all winter.
Check Filters
Air purifiers improve IAQ by collecting contaminants on a filter as the air passes through the filter. Your HVAC system has these filters; so do portable room air purifiers. You can also put a filter in the air return vent in each room of your home, and it’s a good idea to use a vacuum equipped with a filter. Air purifiers only work when the filters aren’t clogged. The EPA recommends checking your filter every month; if it’s dirty, change it. Otherwise, change the filter every three months.
Control Humidity
Cold air is drier than warm air. This, combined with your furnace making your indoor air extra dry, is a recipe leading to sinus infections, dry skin and the flu. A humidifier puts moisture into the air, making you warmer and more comfortable. Be sure and keep moisture levels below 60 percent, though. Too much humidity can lead to the unhealthy growth of mold.
Ventilate Your Home
Flinging open the windows in the middle of a Bellefonte winter isn’t a practical solution for bringing in fresh air and expelling stale air, but it won’t hurt to crack the windows just a bit for a few minutes. Using bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans also removes moisture, gasses and contaminated air from your home.
Indoor air tends to hold more pollutants than outdoor air and can aggravate or cause allergies and respiratory ailments. To learn more about how indoor air quality can make you healthier, check out Triangle Heating & Cooling’s indoor air quality solutions or call us.
