Healthy indoor air quality is vital for your comfort and health. Poor indoor air quality can affect allergies, asthma, or other breathing issues. In the most extreme cases, poor air quality leads to long-term health problems. That’s why it’s important for everyone to learn the basics of indoor air quality. With this beginner’s guide, you can find ways to keep your air clean and healthy throughout your home.
Indoor Air Quality and Your Health
Indoor air quality is often abbreviated as “IAQ.” It refers to the quality of air within your home, office, or other structures. Indoor air quality can also concern airborne pollutants. When you understand the common indoor pollutants, you can reduce the risk of health issues.
Poor air can have an immediate effect on your health. Some of these symptoms can show up due to a one-time encounter with airborne pollutants. These exposure signs include eye irritation, headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. In most cases, the symptoms are short-term and easily treatable. If you are not exposed to the pollutant, then the issues will stop. However, some pollutant exposure can cause chronic illnesses with severe symptoms.
Your reaction to indoor pollutants will depend on your age and pre-existing medical conditions. Some people will not have a severe reaction to contaminants because they have built up a tolerance to the pollutants. It can be challenging determining if symptoms result from exposure to indoor pollutants or something else. In many instances, these reactions can mirror symptoms of other issues, like the common cold. If the symptoms go away after you have left the area, then you probably have a problem with poor indoor air quality. You should make every effort to identify these indoor pollutants and remove them.
Along with the short-term effects of indoor pollutants, there are concerns for long-term problems. These health issues can show up years after the initial exposure. Examples include heart disease, respiratory problems, and cancer. For this reason, it is important to improve the indoor air quality throughout your home. You can be exposed to harmful pollutants and not feel the effects until several years later.
Sources of Indoor Air Quality Issues
Indoor air pollution is often the result of particles or gasses released into the air. When you have inadequate ventilation, it can lead to an increase in pollutant levels. Poor air circulation does not bring in enough outdoor air to reduce the indoor pollutants, and it cannot carry those harmful particles out of the area. In some places, high humidity levels and temperatures will increase the concentration levels of these pollutants.
There are several sources of indoor pollution, including:
- Tobacco products
- Fuel-burning combustion appliances
- Products for household cleaning and maintenance, hobbies, or personal care
- Building materials and furnishings
- Outdoor sources, such as radon, pesticides, or outdoor air pollutants
When you use these products in your home, you want to be careful and have enough ventilation. Some of these sources have high concentrations of harmful pollutants. With those products, you will feel the immediate effects of poor air quality. Other products will slowly release these harmful pollutants into the air. If you are concerned about the indoor air quality in your home, you will want a professional test for your building. At The Cooling Company, we can conduct an indoor air quality audit and resolve those issues in your Las Vegas home.
Fundamentals of Indoor Air Quality
There are three fundamentals of indoor air quality: air circulation, cleaning, and comfort. Many people often overlook air circulation. However, if you have an adequately ventilated room, you rarely have issues with pollutants, odors, and health. If you have windows that can be opened, then you need to take every opportunity to get fresh air into your home. If you are in an office with non-opening windows, you should consider adding a fan to circulate the air. You never want the air to become stale or stuffy. By moving the air, you are increasing the circulation throughout your indoor spaces.
In most cases, the right air circulation is “cleaning” your air. While it is nice to get fresh air into your rooms, you need to ensure that your indoor spaces don’t have a buildup of dust or dirt. You want to remove these particles from your space since they can aggravate asthma and allergies. You might want to stay away from household cleaners too. Many of these products can add more pollutants to the air, and that is the last thing you want for your home or business. If you are looking for an easy solution to get rid of the contaminants, it could be time to invest in an air purifier.
Finally, your comfort is part of keeping healthy indoor air quality. If you are noticing issues, then you cannot stay comfortable in your home. For the most part, you will not smell pollutants in the air. With a high-quality test, you can find out if harmful pollutants are floating throughout your home. These tests will give you some peace of mind that your home is healthy and safe.
Maintain That Healthy Air
After you have eliminated some pollutants, you want to keep your home fresh and healthy. You can invest in some healthy air products, such as air purifiers. These products will operate throughout your home to remove any harmful pollutants from the air. You should also be aware of certain products that can release irritants in the air. For example, room air fresheners can produce a pleasant smell, but they can decrease your indoor air quality.
Finally, you want to keep up on the maintenance of your home comfort systems. Poor ventilation in your heating and cooling systems can spell trouble for your indoor air quality. If the right ventilation is not happening throughout your home, you can be left with a stale room and poor air quality.
Now you know the basics of indoor air quality for your home. If you are concerned about air quality issues in your space, you might want to schedule a home audit. With a professional test, you can find out if you have healthy air throughout your home.
We Can Help With Your Air Quality
At The Cooling Company, we’re here to help with all your indoor air quality concerns in Las Vegas. We’ve been serving the community since 2001, so we’re very familiar with the unique IAQ issues here in the desert. Our highly trained team understands the latest HVAC trends in the industry.
We want you to have a reliable HVAC system in your home. You can count on us to keep you comfortable throughout the year. We primarily work with Lennox products, but we can service most brands.
Our company offers financing options for those with approved credit. When you need a heating or cooling install, repair, or maintenance check in Las Vegas, you can depend on our experienced team. Contact us at The Cooling Company for more information.
