Using HVAC filters can help improve your home’s indoor air quality and your family’s health.
While plenty of air pollution can be found outside, did you know there are also ways the air inside your home can become polluted? You spend a lot of time inside your home, so your home’s indoor air quality must be beneficial to you and your family. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to improve the air quality of your home. The following six home improvement tasks can significantly help increase the quality of your home’s air this spring.
Change the AC Filter
As air-conditioning systems cycle through the air, they filter out common air pollutants. However, eventually, those air filters fill up and stop doing their job. This not only degrades your home’s air quality but wears down your AC system. Make sure to change your AC filters regularly to avoid letting poor quality air cycle throughout your home. If you have less expensive fiberglass filters, you should change your filter every 30 days, while changing other filters on an average of every two months will best ensure optimum air quality.
Check Other Home Filters
Your AC filter isn’t the only standard home filter doing its part to keep your home’s air clean. You can check filters in vacuum cleaners, clothing dryers, and kitchen vents to ensure that they are functioning correctly. In general, these household filters should be cleaned or replaced every few months for optimum performance.
Check the Air Ducts
Air ducts are responsible for distributing the hot and cold air throughout every room of your home. However, ducts that are improperly installed or maintained can easily distribute contaminants from one room to another. Over time dust, dander, and mold can accumulate in the ducts, which can dramatically reduce your indoor air quality. You can hire a professional to inspect your air ducts and make sure they are circulating clean air.
Use Cooking Vents
Gas stoves release harmful contaminants, including carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide. Electric burners also produce these pollutants at lower levels, as well as other particles that can easily be absorbed into the bloodstream. When you cook, turn on your kitchen vents or open a window to help filter out the air and preserve the indoor air quality of your home. If you are using kitchen exhaust vents to filter your air, how often you clean out your filters depends on the frequency of your cooking. If you are cooking frequently at high-heat, check the vents every one to two months. If you don’t cook as frequently, be sure to at minimum check your filter once a year.
Control the Humidity In Your Home
Humid and moist conditions help to breed mold and mildew that trigger respiratory issues like allergies and asthma. In Maryland, summer can become very humid. Reducing the amount of moisture in the air and curbing the growth of these irritants can be done with a few well-placed dehumidifiers.
Buy Indoor Plants to Freshen the Air
Plants are nature’s natural air filters, so buying a few indoor plants can do wonders for your indoor air quality. Small plants like ferns or lilies can help pull contaminants out of the air while also enhancing your home decor.
Build Your Dream Home With T&G Builders
T&G Builders, located in Berlin, MD, has been a premier waterfront custom home builder and home improvement contractor serving Worcester and Sussex Counties for over 25 years. We are a locally owned and operated business known for our uncompromising commitment to quality, our passion for using innovative technology and premium materials to complete projects, and our exceptional attention to detail. In addition to building custom homes, we also specialize in remodeling your current house into your dream home! Our skilled team can assess your needs, determine the right design for your addition or improvement, and complete the entire construction process.
To see what your dream home could look like and receive a free home design, contact us today! Don’t forget to follow T&G Builders on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Houzz.