The air quality in your home has a direct effect on your health. That’s the main reason you want clean air at home. To ensure your family breathes healthy, clean air, you need to test it from time to time. Here is a simple guide on how you can check air quality in your Peoria, IL, home, provided to you by Bratcher Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc..
Purchase Air Quality Monitor
An air quality monitor will tell you exactly what the air quality in your home is like with clear, quantitative results. Look for a monitor that provides data on humidity, VOCs (volatile organic compounds), levels of particulate matter, and air quality index. Air Quality Index assigns a number to your air quality. Knowing your AQI will allow you to track your progress in cleaning your home’s air as you make changes to improve its indoor air quality.
Look for Signs of Poor Air Quality
You don’t necessarily need a monitor to determine if you have poor air quality. You can simply look for the signs. Some of the signs of poor air quality include health problems, such as headaches, coughing, asthma, rashes, and lightheadedness. Other signs of poor air quality include mold, bad odor, and dust build-up.
Call a Professional
Ultimately, you may need help from a professional. A professional will be able to read the air quality monitor properly and provide solutions on how to improve the problem. With the right help, the air in your home can be as clean as the air outside. An HVAC professional can examine your current system to give it a tune-up and make it run more efficiently. They can also install a new air conditioner if the old one has simply run its course.
How to Improve Air Quality
There are various ways and means of improving your indoor air quality. The following are just a few ways that one can easily and effectively help clean your indoor air.
Reduce Toxins in the Air
You have a large part in the toxins that end up in your home’s air. It’s up to you to prevent this from happening in the first place. Start by prohibiting smoking in your home. When someone smokes in your home, that smoke gets into the air. Everyone ends up breathing it in. Other ways to get rid of toxins in the air include:
- Buying natural cleaning products
- Discontinuing the use of candles
- Using low VOC-paint and household products
Get Fresh Air
The air outside is usually much better than the air inside your home since it has so much room to spread out. Plus, less pollution occurs in nature compared to the home. Open up the windows and utilize those screen doors to allow for clean air and increased airflow. Good screens can help eliminate pests and other unwanted things from getting into your home.
Buy an Air Purifier
An air purifier is a device that cleans the air around it. It sucks the particles out of the air before you can breathe them in. Of course, the range is limited, and it can only do so much. However, it can be quite helpful.
Improve HVAC System
Your HVAC system controls the climate of your home with heating and air conditioning. However, it also plays a large role in the air quality of your home. Your HVAC unit contains a filter that collects the bad items in the air. You need to clean the filter as often as is necessary to prevent the unit from spreading dust particles throughout the house. Older units may not provide the same efficiency as newer units, so it may be time for an upgrade. Get a unit with an EnergyStar sticker on it to rest assured that it reaches at least basic levels of efficiency. Get annual maintenance for your unit to keep it running at its best.
Bratcher Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. Is Waiting to Serve You
At Bratcher Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc., we offer high-quality HVAC, air quality, and geothermal services. You should also come to us if you are in the market for a fireplace, boilers, and even ductless ventilation systems, as we are a Premium Lennox Dealer. Whatever your needs for the air in your home, we have you covered. We have been serving the Bloomington/Normal area since 1983, and we are still going strong. Call today to schedule a consultation or to set an appointment. We look forward to serving your home climate comfort needs.
