Is Your Indoor Air Quality Better than Outdoor Air?

When it comes to indoor pollution, many Americans aren’t aware of how dirty the air in their home can get. The federal EPA found in a recent study that the air inside a typical home is four to five times dirtier than the air outside. Yet, half of the respondents in a survey commissioned by 3M did not realize indoor air was dirtier than outside air. These and other findings of the survey are troubling because if homeowners don’t know their indoor air quality is poor, they won’t do anything about it.

For example, the same survey found that while 96 percent of parents take meaningful steps in their homes to protect their children, 39 percent of them don’t regularly change their HVAC system’s air filter. This is despite the fact that one important function of a quality air filter is to make indoor air healthier, especially for children and seniors.

How Do You Improve Indoor Air Quality?

Use these tips to improve the quality of your indoor air:

• Clean your home regularly, and take steps to reduce dust.
• Change the air filter regularly, and make sure the filter you choose is rated to remove a variety of particulates, including pollen and mold spores.
• Have an HVAC technician inspect your home for proper ventilation. In today’s airtight homes, trapped air can get stagnant and dirty unless it’s regularly exchanged with fresh outside air. Open your windows on mild days to flush out the dirty air.
• Have your ducts inspected to determine whether they need to get cleaned. Over the years, contaminants can accumulate in ducts, including mold, bacteria, insect and rodent residue, and human and pet dander. As air circulates in your home, some of these contaminants will get into the air you breathe.
• Reduce your use of chemical-laden cleaning solutions. Find natural alternatives to materials that contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
• Consider installing a whole-house air cleaner that works in concert with your cooling and heating system.

To learn about other ways to improve indoor air quality in your Cleveland area home, please contact us at Stack Heating & Cooling.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Cleveland, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about indoor air quality and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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