Even if your home is vacuumed, dusted, scrubbed and polished, your living environment may not be truly clean. That’s because the indoor air quality in your home may be worse than the air outdoors when particles and chemicals build up without adequate ventilation. Improving indoor air quality gives you peace of mind that comes with breathing clean air, and it may also enhance your health.
Newer homes, poorer air quality
“Most people don’t think about the fact that pollutants build up in the home, especially newer homes built within the last 20 years where enough fresh air isn’t brought in,” said Lenny Earnst, owner of Central Heating & Air Conditioning in Billings. Particulates, germs and bacteria, and volatile organic compounds all may lurk in indoor air.
Clean up your (air) act
To improve indoor air quality in your home, start with the good, inexpensive option of having a MERV filter installed by a contractor with training and skills in heating, ventilation and air conditioning, Earnst said. MERV stands for minimum efficiency reporting value, a measure of how well a filter traps specific particles.
“You want a minimum of 11 on a MERV filter,” he said. In the dry Billings climate, a humidifier can also enhance your indoor air quality. “People find that dry, irritated nasal passages get better, especially at night,” said Earnst.
A volatile situation
Volatile organic compounds are released by things you have and use in your home but probably don’t think about. These include paint and paint thinners, new carpet and flooring, pressed wood furniture, pine- or citrus-scented cleaning products, spot removers, pesticides and personal care products like nail polish and nail polish remover, hairspray and perfume.
The labels for products containing volatile organic compounds often read, “Use in a well-ventilated area” for good reason. High levels of exposure to some VOCs can be harmful, causing headaches, dizziness, nausea, light-headedness, drowsiness, or respiratory or eye irritation. A device such as the Air Scrubber, which attaches to your HVAC system, rids your home of VOCs as well as pet dander and dust, Earnst said.
Better indoor air reduces the spread of illness
Banishing bacteria and germs from your indoor air can help you stay healthier this winter and possibly use fewer sick days. You’ll be less vulnerable if your kindergartner brings home mild sniffles that cause two-week colds in adults, your spouse’s co-worker shares a nasty case of the flu, or someone in the family is exposed to COVID-19.
“The Lennox Pure Aire system takes care of all three kinds of indoor air pollution in one unit. It gets rid of particulate and VOCs, and works to kill viruses in the air,” Earnst said. “If you have a sick person in the home, [the system] could potentially make the illness less transmissible.” People with asthma and allergies may also find that symptoms ease when they have an air purification system installed, Earnst added.
That smells nice
Along with expelling pollutants and bringing in fresh air, an air purification system also makes your indoor air smell nicer. You won’t inhale pet odors the minute you open the front door, and the aroma from that curry or fish dish you cooked won’t linger for days.
Call Central Heating & Air Conditioning at 406.245.5424 to learn more about improving your indoor air quality with better filtration or an air purification system. For more information, visit centralheatingandairmt.com.
