Are you suffering from poor home air quality?
Every home has its own unique smell resulting from a combination of the building materials, furniture, activities, and the residents themselves.
You get to know the smell of home and it’s comforting to walk in the door.
Most of the time.
However, if your home has started to develop an odor that is less than pleasant or if you’re having other issues like constant sneezing, headaches, or out-of-season allergies, the problem isn’t with your home.
It’s your air quality.
Air quality in a home is made up of several factors that all result in a good or bad flow of fresh or conditioned air through the house.
Ideally, you will pull in fresh air, condition it to be hot or cold based on season and preference, cycle it through the house, and then out through a vent so that your air stays fresh.
But, problems arise when air is either not cycling properly or there’s a quality issue somewhere between outdoor intake and your personal comfort.
Here are the top 5 reasons why your home air quality might be ailing.
1) Dirty Vents and Ducts
If you’ve never paid attention to your vents and ducts, you might be surprised just how much gunk, dust, and debris can build up.
Every time air moves through these spaces, it can collect more old dust to blow around your house.
2) Dusty Furniture and Carpets
Dust has to come from somewhere and in many homes, it can settle and hide on anything soft- then release every time you move, walk, or sit down.
If you’ve been noticing clouds of dust in your home, or if your nose has noticed well before your eyes, the culprit could be your deep-shag carpets and soft couch.
Take the vacuum to every soft surface in your home to significantly reduce the dust level.
3) Your Mattress
Did you know that a mattress weight doubles every 10 years as it fills with dust, skin cells, mites, and allergens?
If your air quality is worst in the bedroom and you tend to have trouble sleeping at night, the problem might actually be with an old dusty mattress.
If it’s older than 8 years, it may be time to get a replacement and let your ‘old faithful’ mattress retire.
4) Clogged HVAC Filters
All air that runs through your heating or cooling ventilation system has to go through at least one filter.
These filters are supposed to be changed every one to three months but this is also a task that most homeowners (or renters or property managers) often completely forget about.
While it’s okay for a while, at some point the filter isn’t able to catch any more and either your airflow gets stopped up or grime starts getting through into your home air.
A plugged filter also causes many mechanical failures.
5) Heater or AC in Need of Maintenance
Finally, poor air quality can also be the result of an HVAC appliance like your furnace or AC needing serious maintenance work.
If air isn’t being processed, conditioned, and filtered propertly, it could easily result in low air quality in the rest of the home. Furnaces, in particular, have a high risk of creating dangerous home air situations if they are not properly maintained and replaced when necessary.
Conclusion
Is your home air quality keeping up with the fresh air outside?
There’s no reason to put up with a stuffy or unpleasant-smelling home just because you want to be warmer or cooler than it is outside.
For a consultation on your air quality and HVAC maintenance, contact us at (651) 294-7798 today!
