Posts Tagged ‘Air Quality’

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Did the Clean Up Crew Miss a Spot?

January 30th, 2012

Remodeling projects and repairs leave a big mess in the home especially if the repairs involve drywall. Drywall dust and debris can get all over everything and if your contractors did not take the necessary steps to prevent making a mess, you could have this stuff all over your home and the clean up won’t be easy. You may think that they cleaned everything up but a few cycles of the furnace will prove that they missed a very big spot. The duct work and the furnace are probably filled with debris from your construction project and the only way to get rid of it is to have a professional cleaning performed.

HVAC Clean Up:

  • Duct Cleaning: Every time air circulates through the home it will pick up debris from the job that was done. This along with years of dust and other debris may be lurking in your HVAC reeking havoc on the air quality in your home. A professional duct cleaning will clear out everything that is inside your ducts and collect it safely outside the home for disposal. This will leave you with much cleaner air inside the home.
  • Heating and Cooling Systems: Now that the ducts are clean lets take a look at the furnace and air conditioner. Many homeowners use cheap fiberglass filters that do little to protect the furnace from the particles that flow through the air in the home. All of that construction debris may have found its way into your heating and cooling systems and it needs to be cleared out. A dirty furnace or air conditioner cannot do its job properly or in an efficient matter. You will end up wasting money on excess energy use that could have been prevented with a simple cleaning. » Read more: Did the Clean Up Crew Miss a Spot?

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Air Purifier, Air Quality, Duct Cleaning, Heating, Home Services, Maintenace

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Energy Efficiency and Indoor Air Quality

October 26th, 2011

The air inside your house is said to be 4 x dirtier than the air outside, and this dirty air can be one of the many things that contribute to a decrease in the energy efficiency of the heating and cooling system. If this is true, it only makes sense that someone replacing old and inefficient equipment would also want to purchase that best indoor air quality products available to them.

Air Quality should Matter to Everyone

Indoor air quality products are most commonly purchased by to those with medical issues, and they are seen as unnecessary by those without medical concerns. The fact is the air in your house is dirty enough to cause damage to the new equipment, and once you make a big investment like that, you should want to do everything to protect it from harm. The other major concern consumers have is energy efficiency and the cost of their utility bills. This is often the reason why homeowners upgrade their equipment in the first place. However, the efficiency of the new unit is adversely affected by the poor indoor air quality. » Read more: Energy Efficiency and Indoor Air Quality

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Posted in Air Purifier, Air Quality

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Cartridge Filters Explained

May 4th, 2011

The big topic nowadays is cartridge filters. Next time you’re at Home Depot, Lowes or what ever home center you use, look at the furnace filters. You may notice they sell filters with dimensions of 25” X 20” by 5” thick or 16” X 25” by 5”thick, this is the style of cartridge filter I have in my house. These filters do come in other sizes from 2” thick to 5” thick. The reason they are so desirable is the surface area they have available for air filtration. After looking at a few different MERV rated filters you will notice, the higher MERV rated filters will have more pleats per inch.  You might also notice the higher the MERV rating is the tighter the weave of the filter material. That is the secret of how they work. MERV ratings determine the size of particles that a filter will be able to capture. The higher the rating, the smaller the particles the filter can collect. » Read more: Cartridge Filters Explained

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Posted in Air Quality, Furnace, Maintenace

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Spring Filter Questions

March 7th, 2011

Spring is a new season, and with the new season comes new questions concerning your HVAC system. As you being to bring the air conditioner out of hibernation, you may have some questions regarding the air filtration of the system. Filters are a vital part of your HVAC system all year round , and special care and attention needs to be paid to this component of the system during the spring and summer months as well. Hopefully these responses answer some of your filter questions:

  • Does the air conditioner even need a filter?

Answer: Many homeowners don’t even realize that there is a filter that needs to be changed during the summer months. They assume that because the furnace isn’t making heat, they no longer need to change the filter in it during the off season. However, the filter in the furnace is the same filter the air conditioner uses during the summer months. The blower on the furnace that disperses heat also disperses cooling. Failing to change this filter during the summer months could cause major problems for the air conditioner and your entire HVAC system.

» Read more: Spring Filter Questions

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Air Quality, Furnace, Maintenace

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Scammers Target Seniors

February 9th, 2011

Duct cleaning services are one of the most popular ways remove harmful contaminants from the air in our homes. Those of us that have allergies, asthma, or other respiratory problems rely on services like these to offer some relief from the symptoms of these illnesses. As a result, scam artists have latched onto this industry, and use it as a way to manipulate hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars out of the hands of unsuspecting customers. Senior citizens are among the most vulnerable people in our society, and they have become the perfect target for illegitimate duct cleaning companies. » Read more: Scammers Target Seniors

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Posted in Air Quality, Consumer Protection, Duct Cleaning, Information, Money Saving

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Potted Protectors: Using Plants to Improve Air Quality

February 7th, 2011

When it comes to improving the air quality in your home, you have several choices. Air purifiers, furnace filters, UV lights, and air cleaners are all popular products that homeowners have been using for years to clean the air in their homes, but there is one option that you may not have considered. This “air cleaner” doesn’t get plugged in and you may even already have a few of them in your home. They are plants! Living plants have the ability to absorb and make use of the harmful contaminants in your air supply, and as a result, they clean the air in your home.

Common Contaminants

Plants absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen during their food making process. During a study performed by NASA, it was found that plants also absorb:

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Posted in Air Purifier, Air Quality, Go Green, Home Improvements, Information

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The Portable Problem

January 20th, 2011

If you are in the market for an air purification system, you have probably already acknowledged that you have an air quality problem in your home. Whether you have a child with asthma or musty smells in the basement, air purifiers are one of the best ways to take care of your indoor air quality problem.

While searching for a new system, you may have noticed that there are both “whole house” and “portable” air purifiers to choose from. When deciding between the two, as yourself one question. “Do I want to clean the air in my entire home, or just one room?” The answer should be simple, but if you need a little more convincing, here are a few more reasons why you should choose a whole house air purification system over a portable unit:

  • Limited Coverage: Portable air purifiers have only a specific amount of square footage that they are able to cover, and many only have a small fan to help circulate air through the filtering devices within the unit. This can leave plenty of areas in the home unaffected by the benefits of owning an air purifier. » Read more: The Portable Problem

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Posted in Air Purifier, Air Quality, Information, Maintenace

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4 Ways to Relieve Winter Allergies

January 6th, 2011

Winter allergy relief can be hard to find, but what many people don’t realize is that taking care of the HVAC systems can have several benefits upon the air quality in the home. Improving indoor air quality is a great way to improve your allergy symptoms. Here are four ways that that you can help relieve your indoor winter allergy symptoms:

  1. Duct Cleaning: Having a duct cleaning performed will rid your home of excess dust and debris that may be lingering in the air ducts. Most allergy symptoms are caused by dust, mold, dander, and pollen, and a professional duct cleaning service can safely and effectively remove all of these particles from your air duct system.
  2. Installing an Air Purifier: After you have the duct work cleaned, it is also important to install an air purifier. The air circulating through the duct work was also full of dust, mold, dander, and pollen, and a whole house air purifier will pick up any remaining particles that were floating in the air outside of the duct work. » Read more: 4 Ways to Relieve Winter Allergies

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Posted in Air Purifier, Air Quality, Duct Cleaning, Furnace, Maintenace

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Maintaining Your CO Detectors

December 29th, 2010

If your home doesn’t have carbon monoxide detectors installed, you could be putting your family at risk on a daily basis. However, poorly maintained detectors could still be putting your family in danger. Carbon monoxide detectors warn us when levels of carbon monoxide become hazardous to our health, and even if you take very good care of your gas powered appliances, accidents can still happen. Properly caring for the carbon monoxide detectors in your home is part of the responsibilities of being a homeowner, but many people don’t really know where to begin when it comes to taking care of these units. Here are a few quick tips that will help you and your family care for the carbon monoxide detectors in your home:

  • Install detectors within 10 feet of bedrooms throughout the home. You should also have them installed on every floor including the basement and near an attached garage.
  • Never install a detector too close to the furnace, boiler, or any other gas powered appliance. This could cause false readings because levels of CO are always going to be higher right next to these appliances. » Read more: Maintaining Your CO Detectors

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Posted in Air Quality, Heating, Home Services, Maintenace, Safty

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Recognizing Gas Leaks and What to Do if You have One

December 27th, 2010

Any time you operate a natural gas powered appliance in the home, there is a potential for gas leaks. Professional installation and maintenance should be enough to keep these units in check, but accidents still do happen. If you have ever had a leak in your home, you have probably experienced the odor that is emitted when gas is leaking.

Although it may be unpleasant, the smell emitted by natural gas is often the signal that alerts the homeowner to the presence of the leak in the first place. Without it, explosions and fires would be an even more common occurrences in this country. However, if you miss the alert, the consequences could be very severe. So, we have provided some other ways that you can detect gas leaks and a list of things you should and should not do when you suspect a gas leak in the home. » Read more: Recognizing Gas Leaks and What to Do if You have One

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Posted in Air Quality, Heating, Home Repairs, Safty

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