Take These 10 Steps to Breathe Easier in Your Home

Your indoor air quality has a big impact on the health and comfort of your family. If you follow these 10 steps now, you can make sure that your family breathes easy for months to come.

1. Be sure that your heating equipment is properly vented so that combustion fumes, debris and toxins are vented outdoors, instead of leaking into your home.
2. Vent any complementary heating sources you may be utilizing this winter, such as fireplaces or wood stoves.
3. If you have fans in your kitchen or bathrooms that don’t directly vent outdoors, pollutants may be recirculated through your house rather than piped outdoors. Upgrade to fans that will remove these pollutants from your indoor air.
4. Be sure to change your air filters monthly. As dust and pollen is captured by the filters they start restricting the airflow and make you fan motors use more electricity and not move enough air to maintain the correct temperature.
5. Remove anything that creates unvented combustion indoors, such as candles or cigarettes. If you can’t completely eliminate these items, reduce their use as much as possible.
6. If you are using volatile compounds indoors, such as paint, be sure to ventilate the area by opening windows.
7. Store any volatile compounds like paint thinner or pesticides away from your home. That way, there is no risk that the harmful chemicals will be circulated indoors.
8. If your air handler, furnace or ductwork are outside of your home envelope be sure there are no openings or air leaks that can introduce outside pollutants and unconditioned air into your home.
9. Incorporate UV lights into your air system. They work alongside your air filters as a germicidal tool. They target dangerous microorganisms like viruses, bacteria and fungi that can have deleterious effects on your health.
10. Vent your dryer and central vacuum system outside of your house.

If you have any questions or need help implementing these strategies for boosting indoor air quality, contact Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical.  We have proudly served the Charlotte Metro Area since 1972.