Stale indoor air and heating systems increase the amount of allergy-inducing dust mites, pet dander, and mold spores circulating through your house. Combine this with the absence of fresh air flowing from the outside, and you’ve trapped pollutants and moisture inside.
As these unwelcome guests continuously cycle through your home during the winter months, the concentration of contaminants in the air increases.
When it comes to heating maintenance, our decades of experience help Chicago residents stay warm without sacrificing air quality. These 7 ways to improve your home air quality should be an integral part of any winter home maintenance program, and if you need help, don’t hesitate to call and speak with a Flader technician.
Is Air Quality Worse in the Winter?
Yes, both indoors and outdoors.
Because homes are sealed up to avoid heat loss, you also sacrifice ventilation. This reduced ventilation means that pollutants such as dust, pet dander, and other allergens stick around the inside of the house.
Even your heating system could stir up settled dust and other pollutants if it weren’t cleaned between seasons.
The dry winter air from your heating system impacts respiratory health and makes airborne particles even more irritating.
It isn’t just you; winter air quality tends to be significantly worse, but with the proper precautions and maintenance, you could give yourself the gift of breathing better and happier.
Common Winter Air Pollutants
Winter brings its own set of dangerous air pollutants. Here are the top 4 you need to worry about during the colder months of the year.
1. Combustion Particles
If you have a wood-burning stove, fireplace, or even cooking, those particles linger and penetrate the lungs, leading to those annoying coughing fits and breathing problems.
2. Carbon Monoxide
Colorless, odorless, and deadly. Produced by incomplete combustion from furnaces, heaters, car exhausts, and more, carbon monoxide is one of the most dangerous winter pollutants there is.
To protect yourself, install carbon monoxide detectors throughout your home and in whichever room your furnace is located.
3. Biological Pollutants
Dust mites, mold spores, and pet dander build up in closed, unventilated spaces resulting in allergies and respiratory symptoms. Since your home is sealed up, these pollutants linger and stick around, causing problems wherever they go.
4. Smoke and Soot
Another consequence of wood-burning stoves and fireplaces is that smoke and soot tend to worsen your air quality. Smoke, in particular, contains a mixture of gases and particles known to aggravate asthma and other respiratory conditions.
Signs Your Indoor Air Quality is Poor
To help you better understand your home’s air quality, let’s break things down into three categories: health symptoms, home indicators, and ventilation clues.
Across all three categories, there are clear signs that you might need to call a professional to help you out.
When it comes to your own body, it’s time to call a professional if you’re experiencing frequent headaches, irritated eyes, or increased asthma symptoms. Allergens, particles, or even combustion byproducts such as carbon monoxide can sometimes trigger physical symptoms.
Also, nausea or dizziness are signs of a more serious problem, so you should call a health professional as soon as possible.
In your home, if you notice unpleasant odors lingering, pet dander on surfaces, or condensation on your windows, that’s a sign your air quality is poor. Working with a trained professional ensures you have strong airflow throughout your home and protects you from any lingering allergens in the winter.
Lastly, don’t forget to check your vents and registers for dust. You’ll notice some odd smells and definitely an increase in allergy symptoms if your ventilation system is mixing around dirty particles.
7 Ways to Improve the Air Quality in Your Home During Chicago’s Winter Months
1. Pay Attention to Air Filters
Even with regular dusting and cleaning, various particles, such as dust, dirt, and debris, inevitably find their way into your heating system. Air filters are the frontline defense against pollutants.
But to do the job well, they must be regularly maintained, particularly in winter when the heating unit runs almost constantly. Filters generally need to be cleaned or replaced at least every 90 days.
2. Consider Upgrading Filters
Consult with your HVAC technician to determine whether it’s possible and cost-effective to switch to filters with a higher filtration-efficiency rating. A higher-quality filter may capture submicron particles, leading to health problems.
3. Have Your Ductwork Cleaned
While air vents, registers, and air filters are relatively easy to access and clean or change, remember that debris also accumulates inside your ductwork over time.
Routine cleaning and maintenance help reduce the presence of these airborne irritants and extend your HVAC system’s useful life. Schedule a professional duct cleaning service and follow up every 3 to 5 years.
4. Maintain Proper Indoor Humidity
It’s not just polluted indoor air that can cause discomfort and illness. The extreme dryness of Chicago’s winter air also contributes.
Humidity plays a crucial role in air quality, and according to the EPA, it should be maintained between 30 and 50 percent.
Cold air holds less moisture, so increasing humidity in the winter will help the air feel warmer. And, such an increase will help prevent worsening allergy and asthma symptoms, headaches, dry throats and nasal passages, skin irritation, and sinus congestion.
Consider discussing installing a whole-house humidifier with your HVAC technician to help you and your family enjoy warmer, cleaner, and more comfortable air during the heating season.
5. Provide Sufficient Ventilation
While sealing the home helps trap warm air in and cold air out, it also makes it challenging to provide ventilation.
Opening windows and turning on fans once a week may be a good idea, but we all know that’s not always realistic given our Chicago winters.
Air exchangers boost air quality by managing humidity levels and removing stale, dirty air while simultaneously providing fresh, filtered air from the outside.
6. Consider Using an Air Purifier
If someone in your family is allergic to indoor allergens and you’re struggling to control the source of the problem, for example, you’re unwilling to give up your family pet, it may help to use an air purifier.
Placed in the most commonly used areas in your home, these devices, in particular ionic air purifiers, can help capture irritants that trigger symptoms. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to remove allergens completely, but you can help by minimizing their exposure.
7. Schedule Professional Maintenance
Routine maintenance from a professional HVAC technician ensures your system runs with optimal efficiency, safety, and performance. The technician can also detect and repair potential issues before they become major problems down the road.
People can spend up to 90% of their time cooped up indoors during the winter months. This is all the more reason to be as prepared as possible to fight those irritating and harmful pollutants during this winter.
We Help Homeowners
Flader Plumbing and Heating is uniquely suited to assist you in determining the solution that best fits your home and family’s needs. We’ve been serving your neighbors and our community for over 100 years and 4 generations.
The Flader Difference
Only Flader Plumbing and Heating delivers:
- The most responsive service. We’re here for you 24/7.
- Personal attention from certified and licensed technicians.
- The most dependable equipment and parts.
- Money-saving maintenance agreements.
- 100% satisfaction guaranteed.
Reliability
Flader Plumbing and Heating recommends equipment, models, and brands proven to have the fewest problems and service calls. We specialize in:
Comprehensive Services
Whether you need a new faucet, water heater, or are looking to protect the air quality of your home, we are knowledgeable and provide expert service. Our professional technicians arrive on time, listen to your concerns, and answer your questions. They will recommend the right solution and deliver as promised.
Flader technicians average 15 years of experience and are EPA certified.
Expert service, quality parts, and satisfaction guaranteed. There is no reason to compromise. Call us at 847-491-6980.
