Why is Indoor Air Quality Important? 5 Steps to Improve it! Part 2
This is the next installment in our Air Quality Series. This article will focus on two additional steps to help improve your overall air quality.
If you missed the first step, be sure to click below and see the first part of this series.
Why is Indoor Air Quality Important? 5 Steps to Improve it! Part 1
As you read in part 1 of this series, air pollution is not something that is just outside. The air inside our homes, offices and other buildings can be more polluted (or polluteder <====LOL, just kidding) than the air outside. This series is designed to give you the power to make your living area less polluted.
The first step was to keep your floors mopped and vacuumed (with a HEPA filter vacuum). In addition, be sure to have a large floor mat put at your entrance ways to your home or business.
Now, on to step 2…
Control Humidity – The next step is something that most of us don’t think about. What is that you ask? The humidity level in your home. Many people don’t realize that the humidity in our homes is partially controlled by the air conditioning (ac) unit. The ac unit is responsible for lowering the temperature in our homes.
The other part of equation is that when the ac lowers the temperature of your home, it is also pulling moisture out of the air that is being conditioned. That is the reason that we have pipes (condensate lines) routed outside. This is where the water removed from the air goes.
Keeping the humidity in the 30 – 50% range is ideal. It helps keep the allergens, like mold and dust mites, under control.
In addition to helping keep the humidity in check, the ac is able to filter out some of the indoor pollen. This is a major plus for those of us with allergies.
Sometimes, the addition of a dehumidifier is necessary to help with humidity control. If you are finding that you are having issues with mold or you are feeling “sticky or clammy” in your home, it may be time to consider adding a dehumidifier.
New thermostats can also help control humidity by allowing the ac unit to run longer, thereby, removing more moisture from the air.
Here are a few more ways to dehumidify your home…
1. When you are cooking, bathing or even running the dishwasher, use an exhaust fan or crack open a window,
2. Be sure that you are not over watering any plants in your home,
3. Fix any dripping pipes or leaking plumbing,
4. Empty condensate pans (drip pans) from any window ac units or dehumidifiers,
5. Be sure that your clothes dryer is properly vented to the outside.
Here is step 3. This may not be popular, however, it is a factor to improving your indoor air quality
Smoke Outside – Back in the day, it wasn’t uncommon to go into a smoke filled home. With all of the recent findings, we now know how unhealthy it is to smoke. Cigarette smoke contains thousands of chemicals. These chemicals pollute the indoor air. Research has shown that this second hand smoke increases a child’s risk of getting ear and respiratory infections, cancer, asthma and SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).
Kicking the smoking habit is easier said than done. However, just because it is hard, doesn’t mean that it cannot be done. There are many options out there to help kick the habit.
Bottom line is, if you cannot quit smoking, please do it outside. This will help with the air quality inside of your home.
Please watch for the next 2 steps in Why is Air Quality Important?
If you find that your home is too humid, please give us a call (843-821-0937). There are several solutions that we can offer.
