Handyman

Summer has officially kicked in and with no end in sight to the continuous high Texas temperatures, homeowners are probably finding themselves spending more time indoors to escape the heat. While your home can provide a cool haven on hot summer days and evenings, it is important to check and maintain your air conditioning and air filtration to make sure it is working properly and producing clean air for your and your family.

Air Filters and Air Filtration

Without regular maintenance and checks, most major appliances lose about five percent of their original efficiency for each year of operation. However, not all homeowners service their air conditioners as often as they should or change their air filters.

If you want to maintain quality air, replace your air filters regularly, especially this summer when your air conditioner is working hard to keep your entire home cool. Unchanged and dirty filters restrict air flow, reduce efficiency and can even cause damages to your air conditioner in worst cases. Replace these filters or at least clean them every month, but some experts recommend changing your air filters more than once a month if you have a lot of dust in your home or an indoor pet. Not only does a regular maintenance check on your air filters help make your home's air conditioning working better, but it will save you money in reduced energy bills.

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

Did you know that recent studies have found that the air inside your home can oftentimes be more polluted than the air outside? This may come as a shock to some homeowners, but the truth is, if you are not properly controlling how air circulates in your home, indoor air can become a greater health hazard than the air you breathe right outside your door

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finds that the causes of indoor pollution problems stem from inadequate ventilation, which can increase indoor pollutant levels by not bringing in enough outdoor air to dilute emissions from indoor sources and by not carrying indoor air pollutants out of the home. High temperature and humidity levels can also increase concentrations of some pollutants.

Indoor air pollution sources can come from oil, gas, kerosene, coal, wood, tobacco products, and household cleaning products. Outdoor sources that get into the home such as radon, pesticides, and outdoor air pollution contribute as well. Central cooling systems and humidification devices, in use for most households this summer, is another cause of poor air quality in the home.

Improving IAQ

The EPA offers three strategies to combat poor IAQ:

• Source Control The most recommended and effective way to improve indoor air quality is to eliminate individual sources of pollution or to reduce their emissions. Some sources, like those that contain asbestos, can be sealed or enclosed; others, like gas stoves, can be adjusted to decrease the amount of emissions. In many cases, source control is also a more cost-efficient approach to protecting indoor air quality than increasing ventilation because increasing ventilation can increase energy costs.
• Ventilation Improvements Increase the amount of outdoor air flowing indoors. Since most cooling systems do not automatically bring fresh air into the home, it would be a good idea to operate window or attic fans, or running a window air conditioner with the vent control open increases the outdoor ventilation rate. Local bathroom or kitchen fans that exhaust outdoors remove contaminants directly from the room where the fan is located and also increase the outdoor air ventilation rate.
• Ventilation Air Cleaners Some air cleaners are highly effective at particle/dust removal, while others, including most table-top models, are less effective. The effectiveness of an air cleaner depends on how well it collects pollutants from indoor air and how much air it draws through the cleaning or filtering element. The source of the pollutant will also determine how effective an air cleaner can be.

By following recommended strategies to fight poor indoor air quality, breathe more easily when relaxing in your home this summer.

If you are not sure how to maintain or check the air in your house, we can help.

ABC Handyman provides the following Air Conditioning services:

• Upgrade your old system with a new high-efficiency system
• Add electronic air filters to improve home air quality
• Perform semi-annual service inspections for cost savings, improve system performance and peace of mind
• Install UV lighting in your duct system to remove dust, minimize pollen, and kill mold and bacteria
• Install Energy and Heat Recovery Ventilators with HEPA filtration to reclaim energy from exhaust flows and improve air quality

Indoor air quality is important to maintaining healthy and natural air that you can be comfortable breathing in your own home.

ABC Handyman offers the following to maintain a high level of Indoor Air Quality:

• Humidifiers
• UV lights in duct system
• ERV/HRV whole house ventilation to remove stale air
• Electronic air cleaners

Set up an appointment with ABC Handyman today to maintain a high IAQ at: Make an Appointment

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