Are you sneezing, coughing, and feel a tightness in your chest? If you have poor indoor air quality you will find yourself suffering from harsh chemicals, asthma triggers and air pollutants. Learn about the signs, symptoms and solutions to your indoor air quality problems.
Signs of Poor Indoor Air Quality
The effects of air pollutants can be short-term or long-term. Short-term symptoms include eye and throat irritation. Long-term symptoms include respiratory disease and cancer. Here are some of the following signs and symptoms of poor indoor air quality.
Mold Growth
If you have excess humidity, there’s a strong likelihood that mold will grow on your walls, floors and furniture. Mold grows rapidly in dark, moist settings.
How to identify: Musty smells and green or black spots on surfaces.
Poor indoor air quality is often times due to excess humidity in the air. It’s common for mold to grow around sinks, fixtures, tubs and other moist areas, but humid air can also produce mold growth in less common spots around your house.
Unpleasant Smell
If you have an issue with air quality, you will notice an unpleasant smell when you walk inside your home.
How to identify: Sometimes odors can be hard to identify because you get used to the smell of your house. You’ll most likely notice the change in odor if you’ve been out of the house all day or all weekend. If you smell that something is off… try walking outside take a deep breath and walk back in.
Odors can indicate a lack of ventilation in your home and it can even expose how air travels through your home. If you continue to smell a bad odor for a few hours, that may be a sign that your air doesn’t have a rapid, controlled way out of your home.
Dust
Dust can be another sign of poor indoor air quality. Pet dander, pollen and other particulates can also cause irritation if you have sensitive respiratory symptoms.
How to identify: If you have an excess amount of dust across your household, then you most likely have an indoor air quality problem.
Your air filter works to protect you from excess dust and particulates, but it’s main objective is to protect your cooling and heating equipment. Regardless, choosing the appropriate air filter can increase your indoor air quality.
How to choose the right air filter:
Mechanical air filters are typically the most common type of home air filters in household HVAC systems. These types of filters use synthetic fibers to trap small particles, debris and dust etc.. It prevents these particles from circulating in the air and getting in your lungs.
When buying an air filter look for the MERV rating (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value).
MERV 8: Made with synthetic media that catches small particles and allergens.
MERV 11: Also made with synthetic media and are a step up from Merv 8 without a significant price increase. Merv 11 is a good upgrade and provides good indoor air quality.
MERV 13: Also made with synthetic media. Merv 13 provides excellent filtration, but doesn’t always fit certain HVAC systems. Call your manufacturer or HVAC tech to make sure this system will actually enhance your indoor air quality.
Humidity
Home humidity can be a key indicator of air quality issues. It’s recommended to keep your indoor humidity between 30 and 50 percent throughout the year.
Consider using a hygrometer to observe these moisture levels in your home just so you can be aware throughout the year.
Poor air quality can arise from various factors. Insufficient ventilation or external contamination sources are just a few examples of what can interrupt your air quality.
To learn how to lower humidity in your home, check out our blog: 7 Natural Ways to Lower Humidity In Your Home
Indoor Air Quality Hacks
You’ve read about what causes poor indoor air quality, now learn how to fix these problems before they affect your health and well-being.
What exactly is polluting your home?
- Benzene- Comes from glues, furniture, paints, detergents
- Ammonia- Found in aerosols and sprays
- Formaldehyde- Present in wood furniture, building materials, household cleaners, carpets, personal care products, disinfectants
- Trichloroethylene is found in dry cleaning, oils, adhesives, paints, pesticides
- Xylene and Toluene are in a variety of household products—fingernail polish, glues, paints and paint thinners, rubber, wood stains
Houseplants, DIY products and exposing vents are all easy and quick solutions to your indoor air quality problem.
Go Green:
Houseplants can be a powerful weapon against the war on poor indoor air quality. Most of these houseplants are low maintenance and can take harsh chemicals in your home and produce clean air.
Here are just a few houseplants that can purify your indoor air:
Peace Lily:
Removes- Benzene, Ammonia, Formaldehyde, Trichloroethylene, Xylene and Toluene
Care: Low lighting, weekly watering, seeds monthly
*Poisonous to dogs and cats
English Ivy:
Removes- Benzene, Formaldehyde, Trichloroethylene, Xylene and Toluene
Care- Partial shade, weekly watering, seeds monthly
For more air purifying plants, read our blog here: Top 5 Air Purifying Houseplants
DIY:
Did you know a lot of your household cleaners contain a variety of air pollutants? Vinegar and baking soda are less harmful and can get you an unbelievable sparkle on your appliances.
Starting with the cleaning basics:
White vinegar- The acidic properties of vinegar make it perfect for destroying bacteria and viruses.
Lemon juice- Lemon juice cleans and disinfects with its high concentration in citric and ascorbic acids.
Olive/coconut oil- Natural oils polish and furniture and lift dirt without using harsh chemicals.
For more recipes and DIY cleaning guides, click here: Easiest DIY Cleaning Products to Have In Your Household
Vents and Ductwork:
Make sure your air vents are exposed. Your air conditioner will have to work harder to cool down your house and lower humidity levels if the vents are obstructed.
Learn more ductwork and AC tips, here: HVAC Duct Cleaning: Waste or Worth It?
Call Local AC Today!
For clean air and speedy service, call Local AC. Don’t suffer from allergies and poor health because of your indoor air quality. Call us today to schedule a maintenance visit!
