How To Make Your Home Healthier
Indoor Air Quality for a Healthier Home
Winter is the time of year that many people associate with illness, whether it be a common cold or a nasty flu. As you search for ways to help your family stay healthier this season, it’s important to be aware of how your home’s HVAC system can help. Here’s how to improve your home’s air quality using indoor air quality (IAQ) equipment.
1. High-Efficiency Media Filters
Many homeowners believe the air filter in a furnace or air handler is meant to remove pollutants from the home’s air and create a cleaner, healthier environment. While this is certainly a benefit of how these filters operate, improving your home’s air quality isn’t their main purpose. The filter’s primary job is to remove contaminants from the air so that they do not enter the inner workings of your HVAC equipment, where buildup of dust, debris, and other matter can hamper operation and cause damage.
Yes, standard furnace filters offer some assistance in improving air quality, but there are better options designed specifically for this role. High-efficiency media filters are much more efficient at trapping finer particles that can easily pass through a standard 1-inch filter, such as mold, pollen, animal dander, and more. By removing common allergens from the home environment, these filters can help minimize allergy and asthma symptoms as well as help those with respiratory illnesses breathe easier.
2. Air Cleaners and Air Purifiers
A whole house air cleaner or air purifier is a useful addition to any HVAC system, providing advanced filtration beyond what a high-efficiency filter alone can offer.
AccuClean Whole-Home Air Cleaner by American Standard
The AccuClean Whole-Home Air Cleaner can improve your home’s air quality. This device is capable of removing as much as 99.98 percent of allergens in your indoor air supply – this is 100 times better than the results provided by a standard 1-inch air filter. These air cleaners can effectively trap particles down to 0.3 microns in size, removing 99.9 percent of Influenza A as well as proving effective for the removal of surrogates that cause COVID-19.
iWave Air Purifier
The iWave Air Purifier is another effective way of removing pollutants and airborne contaminants. It’s installed in the furnace’s blower section and works with your existing HVAC air filter. The iWave produces ions that break down pollutants and gases – such as mold, viruses, bacteria, pollen, and dander – into harmless compounds. You can improve the quality of your indoor air supply without any harmful byproducts with the installation of the iWave Air Purifier.
3. Humidifiers
Winter air is naturally drier than air during the spring, summer, and fall, thanks to colder temperatures. Still, we need a certain amount of moisture in our air to feel comfortable and to help our bodies stay healthy. Adding a whole home humidifier to your HVAC system is beneficial to creating a healthier indoor environment during the winter season. Humidifiers add moisture to the air circulating through your system for heating, so the warmed air that flows from your supply vents is properly balanced.
A humidifier benefits you and your loved ones in various ways. When indoor relative humidity levels are kept balanced over the cold months, you’re less likely to experience the physical effects of dry air, such as chapped lips, bloody noses, and dry nasal passages. When the body’s mucus membranes dry out, you can become more susceptible to catching illnesses. Viruses can spread more easily when the air is dry. Combined with the body’s reduced ability to fight infection in low humidity conditions, dry air can contribute to more wintertime illnesses.
4. Dehumidifiers
High humidity in the home during the warmer months can lead to health issues as well as damage to your residence. Condensation on windows, damp spots, and other signs of excess moisture may create ideal conditions for mold to develop, and exposure to these spores can have negative health consequences. If you notice signs of indoor moisture problems, using a whole home dehumidifier may be appropriate to help you balance indoor relative humidity.
Contact HomeSense for Indoor Air Quality Solutions
HomeSense offers indoor air quality solutions that can help improve your indoor environment. Contact us to learn more about IAQ products for your home.
