If you’re uncertain whether your Northridge home has poor indoor air quality (IAQ), it probably does.

We are indoors a lot. In reality, we’re inside up to 90% of the time, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And the air inside homes could be 2–5 times more polluted than outdoors, which may create long-term health concerns.

Most Common Sources of Bad IAQ

We’ve compiled a list of the most frequent causes of inferior IAQ, the troubles they cause and how you can remedy these indoor air pollutants. If you’re concerned about the air inside your home, we recommend chatting with a professional like Enertek Air Conditioning & Heating about which products are a good fit for your home.

Volatile Organic Compounds

Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are fumes leaked by common household things.

They’re found in paint and stains in addition to:

  • Furniture
  • Carpet
  • Building materials
  • Cleaning products
  • Cosmetics
  • Air fresheners
  • Candles

When these chemicals accumulate inside, they can irritate your eyes, nose and throat. They may also create headaches and nausea. Regardless of whether your home is in a rural or industrial location, an EPA study found indoor levels of these fumes can be 2–5 times greater than the air outdoors.

Always adhere to the manufacturer’s directions when applying paint or spraying cleaning products. Cracking a window can help vapors dissipate faster.

Air purification systems can also make it better. This system partners with your heating and cooling equipment to enhance indoor air. When looking for a system, ensure it’s specifically created to eradicate VOCs.

Dust and Pet Dander

Dust and pet dander can trigger health problems like asthma and allergies, especially when it continually gets redistributed by your house’s comfort unit. While you can vacuum more frequently and buy an improved air filter, an air filtration system may be a better solution.

This solution hooks to your comfort equipment to provide mighty filtration. Some types provide hospital-level filtration for eliminating particles and bioaerosols.

Persistent Odors

Modern residences are tightly sealed to boost energy efficiency. While this is fantastic for your utility costs, it’s not very good for your IAQ.

Stale odors can hang around for a greater amount of time as your residence is pulling in a smaller amount of fresh air. As keeping your windows open all year-round isn’t doable, here are two methods you can make your indoor air smell cleaner.

An air purification system is put in your HVAC system to eliminate odors before they recirculate. Find one with a carbon filter and the capability to wipe out damaging VOCs. These systems can also help keep your family healthy by eliminating most bacteria and normal allergy triggers like pollen and mold spores.

A ventilation system takes out musty indoor air and exchanges it with fresh outdoor air. There are two kinds of equipment (heat recovery and energy recovery), so call our professionals for more details on which type is right for your house.

Unbalanced Humidity

It’s critical your residence’s humidity remains even. Air that’s too humid can create mold, while dry air can lead to respiratory issues.

Our professionals suggest 40–50% for the best comfort. To keep yours even, think over getting a whole-home humidifier or whole-home dehumidifier with your HVAC equipment.

Rather than having to drag a humidifier from room to room, this product delivers balanced humidity throughout your house.

Carbon Monoxide

Carbon monoxide is colorless gas you can’t smell. It’s caused by insufficient combustion in fuel-burning equipment, like gas heating systems, water heaters or fireplaces.

It produces a serious health risk. In low levels, it can cause flu-like symptoms like headaches and nausea. It could be fatal in big concentrations.

We advise regular furnace maintenance to double-check your unit is working like it should. This service allows our technicians to discover troubles before they get bigger, including malfunctions that can cause carbon monoxide leaks.

The best method to keep your house free of carbon monoxide is to get detectors. These alarms should be on every floor close to bedrooms and living rooms.

Improve Your Residence’s Air Quality with the Enertek Air Conditioning & Heating Pros

Aware that your house has bad air quality but not sure how to enhance it? Or unsure which product is best for you? Give our kind HVAC professionals a call at (818) 727-9993 or contact us online right away. With free estimates and professional service, we’ll help you choose the right solution for your family and budget.