It’s essential to maintain good indoor air quality in your Jeffersontown, KY, home to protect your health. You can achieve this by ensuring that your HVAC system can filter out harmful chemicals and common causes of poor IAQ. The following are some of the common IAQ threats you might face in your home.
Biological Agents and Volatile Organic Compounds
Biological agents, such as pet dander, viruses, and bacteria, can be a threat to your indoor air quality. These agents can cause allergic reactions such as watery eyes, breathing difficulties, and itchy throats. Fortunately, you can fight these biological agents by improving ventilation, controlling moisture sources, installing a dehumidifier, keeping your home free from pets, or bathing them often.
Volatile organic compounds are invisible, and they originate from some products that produce distinct odors. Common sources of volatile organic compounds in homes may include air fresheners, furniture, paints, and carpeting. You may not be able to eliminate products that emit volatile organic compounds entirely. However, you can find products that contain minimal amounts of these pollutants to improve your indoor air quality and improve your home’s ventilation.
Pesky Pollen
Pollen is a common threat to indoor air quality because it triggers an allergic response, such as coughing, wheezing, sneezing, and runny nose. An effective solution to this threat to IAQ would be avoiding opening doors and windows when the pollen count is high and cleaning your home thoroughly. Also, maintaining your HVAC system through regular air filter cleaning and replacement can help combat pesky pollen.
Air filters play an important role in eliminating potentially harmful pollutants that act as a threat to your indoor air quality. Therefore, failure to replace air filters as regularly as required could threaten your indoor air quality. Fortunately, you can improve your indoor air quality by changing air filters at least four times a year.
Household Cleaners and Disinfectants
While some house cleaners are environmentally friendly, some still contain chemicals that threaten your indoor air quality. The combination of these chemicals can negatively impact your indoor air quality because they are dangerous to your lungs. It’s wise to open your windows for aeration after cleaning your house with these household cleaners to get rid of the smell of the chemicals.
Radon
Radon is a natural gas that often leaks through foundation cracks and other places in a house. Unfortunately, it’s a threat to your indoor air quality and can cause lung cancer. You can eliminate this harmful natural gas through proper testing and adhering to the recommended modifications.
Cigarette Smoke
Research reveals that secondhand smoke has adverse effects, including causing cancer. A single stick of cigarette can contain hundreds of toxic substances that interfere with indoor air quality. Therefore, smokers should step outside because the substances in cigarettes can land on surfaces inside the home.
Combustion Agents
Burning fuels, such as coal, wood, propane, oil, and gas, are combustion agents that threaten indoor air quality. The compounds, such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide released after burning fuel sources, can cause poor indoor air quality. These gases are odorless and colorless and can have adverse effects on occupants like nausea, breathing difficulties, headache and dizziness.
Poor Ventilation
An inadequate ventilation system doesn’t allow enough outdoor air into your home, preventing proper air circulation and acting as a threat to indoor air quality. A proper ventilation system reduces the number of pollutants inside your home, which is essential in improving indoor air quality. Buildings should have special ventilation mechanisms to enhance indoor air quality, or you can invest in a proper ventilation system that reduces indoor pollutants.
These are some of the common threats that can compromise your indoor air quality. Fortunately, you can prevent poor indoor air quality by changing habits like smoking and investing in indoor air quality solutions. Contact KLM Heating & Cooling for advice on how to improve your indoor air quality to help you stay comfortable throughout the year.
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