Coloradans are used to issues with poor air quality. A local news outlet reported that on August 7, 2021, Colorado briefly had the worst air quality in the world. When the air quality gets bad, the advice is to stay indoors, especially if you have respiratory or cardiac conditions.
But what if the indoor air quality in your home isn’t good for your health either? Thankfully, that’s a problem that’s easier to address. We’re going to take you through what causes indoor air quality issues. We’ll also examine what you can do to make the air in your home safe for the whole family.
What Causes Poor Indoor Air Quality?
According to the EPA, Americans spend an average of 90 percent of their time indoors. The problem is that the level of certain pollutants is 2 to 5 times higher than outdoors!
The most common pollutants in our homes include:
- Cigarette smoke
- Carbon monoxide from furnaces, stoves, and cars in attached garages
- Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from paint, furniture, and building materials
- Natural pollutants, including pet dander, mold, viruses, and bacteria
- Asbestos
- Radon
Some of these pollutants come in from outside, but others are given off by the materials that make up our homes. If there is too much moisture in the air, mold, and mildew can quickly start to develop.
The Impact of Poor Air Quality on Health
People differ in their reactions to poor air quality. Some people report no immediate ill effects. Other people living in the same home may be more sensitive to certain pollutants and suffer severe symptoms.
Some common symptoms include:
- Dizziness
- Shortness of breath
- Eye, nose, and throat irritation
- Respiratory problems
- In some serious cases, cancer and heart disease
The following people are particularly susceptible to airborne pollutants:
- Allergy sufferers
- Babies and young children
- Seniors
- People with serious health conditions
One leading cause of lung cancer is radon. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas. It can enter your home from gaps in the building and is the second most common cause of lung cancer in the United States.
Problems with your HVAC system can lead to bacteria spreading around your home. For example, some outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease have been linked to poor HVAC maintenance.
Indoor Air Quality Benefits
When clean, fresh air circulates around your home, it helps everyone living there maintain good health. It helps you to breathe more easily, which can, in turn, reduce your stress levels. It can also contribute to more restful sleep and make it easier to get to sleep.
Do you find that you often wake up with a blocked nose? This could be to do with your indoor air quality. When this is improved, you may find that allergy symptoms reduce.
A home with clean air circulating will also smell better. Unfortunately, nasty smells often come from mold or bacteria deciding to make your home their home.
Eliminate Mold
Mold is everywhere in the world around us. But it can build up to unhealthy levels in our homes and can cause unpleasant allergic reactions and very serious conditions in some people.
Maintaining your HVAC system is crucial for keeping mold at bay. If your air ducts are not properly maintained, mold can start to grow inside. This can then be spread around your home.
Humidify Your Air
While too much humidity can promote mold growth, too little is also bad for your health. The very dry air in Denver and the surrounding area can cause skin problems, respiratory issues, eye irritation, and more.
You need an HVAC system that regulates the humidity levels in your home. In Colorado, this may mean adding moisture to the air to make the air in your home comfortable to breathe and great for your health.
Improving Your Indoor Air Quality in Denver, CO
Maintaining your HVAC system is the first step to getting better quality air inside your home. It’s easy to forget about your air ducts because they’re out of sight and out of mind. But over time, they can become torn, joins can fail, and dust, dirt, and mold can build up inside them.
A single air duct cleaning removes 6 pounds of dust from an average home! When you schedule an air duct cleaning, the technicians will also advise you if there are problems that you need to correct. Making repairs will help you keep dust and dirt out and keep your indoor air quality good.
Whole Home Humidifier
A whole-home humidifier can make your home a healthier and more comfortable place for everyone in the family. It uses plain tap water to maintain the humidity levels at a healthy 35-45 percent. This can reduce bacteria levels in the home while not being high enough for mold to develop.
It is also more economical to have a single unit humidifying the entire home rather than having several smaller units.
Whole Home Air Purifier
If you’d like to say goodbye to health problems caused by poor indoor air quality, a whole home air purifier could be a great solution. It ensures that all of the outdoor air that enters your home is filtered. Plus, it removes pollutants that would normally circulate around your home.
This is great news, not only for your health but also for your HVAC system. Cleaner air puts less pressure on it, allowing it to run more efficiently for longer.
Whole Home Ventilation System
The air circulating around a home can get stagnant, even if it is filtered. It’s better to introduce filtered outdoor air into your home that helps it to feel clean and fresh. A whole home ventilation system does just that and can capture up to 96 percent of virus-size airborne particles.
Time to Call Doctor Fix It Plumbing, Heating, Cooling and Electric
Everyone deserves to have great indoor air quality. At Doctor Fix It Plumbing, Heating, Cooling and Electric, we have a range of solutions that can help you to boost your health by bringing fresh, clean air into your home. We can also help with maintaining your HVAC system so that it circulates healthy air for all to breathe.
We’re proud to serve the people of Aurora, Arvada, Centennial, Denver, Lakewood, Littleton, and Westminster, CO.
Call us at (303) 993-1550 or schedule a service online today!
