Signs Your Residence Has Poor Indoor Air Quality and How to Restore It

We are often indoors. In fact, the EPA has calculated the majority of people spend 90% of their day within a building, where air quality can be 2–5 times poorer than outside.

Poor indoor air quality can have a negative effect on your well-being. That’s why it’s important to know the signs of bad air quality in your home, what leads to it and how to repair it.

If you want to know how you can tell if your Abilene home’s air quality is bad, our team of HVAC experts at Abilene Air-Tech Inc can help. We’ll go over the problems you’re experiencing and offer suggestions to make your home’s air cleaner.

What Causes Indoor Air Pollution?

When you think of pollution, you typically think of smog. But ordinary products in your house can cause pollution by the gases or particles they let into the air.

These starting points involve:

Carbon monoxide
Cleaning, personal care and hobby items
Combustion appliances, like a furnace or stove that consumes gas
Dust, animal dander and pollen
Excess moisture
HVAC systems
New flooring or carpeting
Secondhand smoke
Man-made building materials, such as furniture made from pressed wood

Indoor air pollution can be exacerbated by a lack of ventilation in your residence, as well as warm temperatures and humidity. Modern residences are firmly sealed for energy conservation, which is good for your energy expenses but not so good when you require extra fresh air indoors.

Can Poor Indoor Air Quality Make You Sick?

Because people react differently to indoor air pollutants, you may develop symptoms right away or in the future. Your symptoms could go away when you leave your house but get worse when you return.

Some of the most common immediate symptoms deal with:

Dry eyes, nose or throat
Headaches
Dizziness
Fatigue

If someone in your household deals with allergies or asthma, their symptoms could be more severe.

Continuous or extended exposure can lead to respiratory diseases, heart disease or even cancer, the EPA warns.

Other Signs of Bad Indoor Air Quality and How to Improve It

Your house will also give you some signs that its air isn’t as clean as it could be.

Your home is extremely dusty, notably close to the vents. It’s expected for your home to get dusty during the week, but a lot of dust around your air registers should be troubling. There are other particles within dust, like dust mites, pollen and pet dander, that can affect your health, especially if you have allergies or asthma. A higher-quality air filter or whole-home air filtration system can help reduce dust and other irritating pollutants.
Your residence has hot and cold rooms. Your HVAC system could be struggling to maintain proper temperature and humidity amounts. Or there might be air distribution issues because of your heating and cooling unit or ductwork. Our Abilene Air-Tech Inc pros can locate the issue and suggest repairs or replacement.
Your house’s air seems too dry or too wet. We advise maintaining your house’s humidity levels around 30–40% for optimal comfort. If your home isn’t humid enough during cold temperatures, your skin and throat can feel dry. You might also battle colds and other respiratory illnesses more frequently. If your house is too humid during hot temperatures, you might have increased mold and mildew growth, both of which are harmful to your wellness. You can fight these issues with a whole-home humidifier or dehumidifier, which works with your heating and cooling unit to provide appropriate humidity throughout your house.
Your house has odors that won’t go away. You could detect a musty scent when you arrive. Or a cooking scent that just won’t dissipate. Since it’s not feasible to keep your windows open all day, a whole-home ventilation system can get your residence smelling fresh again. It replaces stuffy inside air with fresh outdoor air.

Other strategies the EPA recommends doing include keeping your residence smoke-free, getting carbon monoxide alarms and maintaining your home comfort system. Regular furnace maintenance and AC maintenance helps keep your systems clean and efficient and could even help them last for an extended period of time.

We Can Help Improve Your House’s Indoor Air Quality

If you think your home has an air quality issue, give our Abilene Air-Tech Inc HVAC pros a call at (325) 692-5850 or contact us online. We’re here to talk with you about options and give you a free estimate.