The coughing, sniffling, and sneezing that you’ve been plagued with for the past few weeks might not be the result of a cold virus. It could be due to poor indoor air quality. During the winter months in Prattville, AL, homes are closed up tightly to retain warm air, but that also means more trapped contaminants like dust, dirt, and allergens within your home. Improving indoor air quality in your home may be of benefit to your health as well as to the durability, efficiency, and longevity of your furnace.
Causes of Poor Winter Indoor Air Quality
There are many reasons why the air quality in your home may be sub-par. The wintertime causes of this problem include:
- Dirty furnace filters
- Bringing allergens like live pine trees and flowering plants as decorations
- Daily activities such as cooking, hobbies, and cleaning with items that produce fumes and airborne particles
Improving Indoor Air Quality
Making improvements to the air quality in your home don’t require much time or monetary investment. However, your efforts will be well worth it as you may feel better and the performance of your heating system may improve.
- Replace your furnace filter every 30 days. Upgrade to an air filter with the highest MERV rating you can find.
- Clean your air registers weekly.
- Use exhaust fans while cooking, cleaning, showering, and working on hobbies that produce fumes.
- Air out any new furnishings before bringing them inside your home.
- Run the fan of your HVAC system even when heating or air conditioning isn’t needed. This brings in fresh air.
- Use a dehumidifier or a humidifer to control indoor humidity levels.
- Sweep floors daily with a damp cleaning cloth or mop. Vacuum carpeting daily. Use a HEPA filter on the vacuum.
Maintaining Your Heating System
Proper heating system maintenance is also essential for boosting the quality of the air in your home. Once each year, the heating system should have a tune-up service. This will include a professional cleaning of the system’s interior. The system will also be lubricated and inspected for signs of wear and tear. The filter will also be replaced.
In addition to improving the quality of the air in your home, activities such as replacing the air filter and scheduling a furnace tune-up could boost the system’s efficiency by up to 15 percent or even more, resulting in a substantial savings on your wintertime heating costs. To learn more about how the quality your home’s air is affected by heating systems or to schedule any heating system maintenance, repair or installation service, call us at Luquire any time.
