Many people don’t realize that their homes have poor indoor air quality. This is especially the case during the cold winter months in Kansas, when families are spending many hours indoor running heaters and fireplaces in order to keep warm. With the focus on energy efficiency, many homes are sealed tighter than ever, meaning unless you take action, that stale, dirty air has no way of getting out.

The first thing you need to do, of course, is find the sources or dirty air and remove or manage them so they’re no longer contaminating your indoor air. Some indoor sources of dirty air include:

  • Cigars, cigarettes and pipes
  • Fireplaces
  • Cleaning products
  • Air fresheners
  • Candles
  • Solvents
  • Paint
  • Wood-burning stoves
  • Damp carpeting
  • Pressed wood furniture and cabinets
  • Hobby supplies such as glue
  • Personal care products

The next step in helping to improve your indoor air quality is improving the ventilation system in your home. Consider installing a heat recovery system. This device will blow the bad air out of your home, while continuously drawing in fresh clean outdoor air. Some of the more advanced models will extract heat from inflowing or out-flowing air, depending on the season, and use that process to help heat or cool your home.

Another step to improve on air quality indoors is remove any particles that may still be contaminating the air. This is best done with a whole house air purifier. These systems are usually installed right into your existing heat and cooling systems, and can trap mold spores, pet dander, dirt, lint and other small particles.

By taking these steps, you’re taking the proper steps that will improve the indoor air quality of your home, as you want the air to be as healthy, fresh and clean as possible. Otherwise, you and your family will be susceptible to allergies and illness. If you live in the Wichita area, and would like to learn more about improving the air quality in your home, as well as ventilation and whole-home air purifiers, please contact us at Comfort Systems today.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Wichita, Kansas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about indoor air quality and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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