Improve Home Air Quality with Bradley Mechanical
The weather in Central Virginia is beginning to get colder, which means winter is certainly on its way. After a fun summer in the sun, you and your family will likely be spending more and more time indoors. While you cozy up with a warm blanket and cup of tea, we're here to remind you to consider your home indoor air quality this time of year.
Spending more time inside makes it abundantly clear if your indoor air quality is up to par. If not, you'll notice the signs: frequent sneezing, coughing, dry throat, stuffy nose, headaches and potentially other, more dangerous, respiratory issues for those with asthma and allergies. Good indoor air quality is crucial to keeping you and your family healthy and comfortable throughout the colder seasons.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can improve home air quality. Your friends at Bradley Mechanical are here to help!
Spaces that Impact Home Indoor Air Quality
Crawl Spaces
Moisture in your crawl space can develop easily due to a change in temperature, heavy rain or the lack of protective measures. When there is moisture present, it creates an inviting environment for mold and fungus to grow. Approximately 30-40% of the air in your home comes from the crawl space, which means that if your crawl space has mold issues, so does the air you're breathing. To improve indoor air quality, you should have your crawl space professionally sealed or encapsulated. This process can greatly improve the quality of the air in your home.
Basements
Basements can often be the culprit for poor indoor air quality. Because basements have a higher humidity rate due to being dark, damp, and cool, indoor air quality issues can quickly stem from this area. Additionally, air is not circulated well in basements and can get trapped. To avoid this, it's important to ensure your basement is properly sealed and free of contaminants like mold and mildew. Air purification systems can be greatly beneficial in basements as well.
Humidity
Humidity is the amount of water vapor present in the air at a given temperature. Why is maintaining proper humidity levels so important to the quality of your air? Keeping the humidity in your home between 30-50% can help control allergens, such as dust mites and mold, which can cause respiratory issues and skin irritation. Consider having a humidity management system installed into your HVAC equipment. It can help improve your air quality and HVAC system's efficiency. Alternatives include humidifiers, which add moisture to dry air to reduce static electricity and reduce common health problems caused by dryness, such as persistent coughing, bloody noses, sneezing and more. On the other side, if you have too much humidity in your home, mold and mildew can grow throughout your home rather quickly. That's where a dehumidifier comes into play, as it removes excess moisture to keep your home's humidity levels at bay.
Air Filters
Cleaning or replacing your air filters within your HVAC system is one of the easiest things you can do to improve the air quality of your home. Having clean air filters can reduce the amount of mold, bacteria and allergens in the air. It also improves the performance of your heating and cooling system. Air filters should be cleaned out several times a year and replaced annually.
Ventilation
Ventilation is the most important part of your HVAC system. Having proper ventilation can reduce airborne allergens, regulate humidity levels and ensure your heating and cooling systems run efficiently. If there are any blockages or issues within your ventilation, it can cause a slew of problems that impact your indoor air quality. Remember to use bathroom and kitchen fans that exhaust the outdoors. This can help cut down on contaminants and extra water vapor that is added to the air from cooking and showering.
Improve Home Air Quality with Bradley Mechanical
For over 50 years, we've provided our community with indoor air quality services that improve the overall comfort of homes. We're proud to provide installation, repairs and routine maintenance on your crawl space, HVAC system, ventilation and so much more.
If you think your indoor air quality is poor, or you're struggling with common signs of indoor air quality issues, give us a call. Protecting the quality of air circulating through your home is very important to your comfort and health. Bradley Mechanical offers many different services to help maintain your home's air quality. Give us a call today at (804) 748-6728 to schedule your air quality test.
