The quality of air in your Richmond, VA home can have a significant effect on your health and comfort. Indoor air quality (IAQ) affects both property values and the overall habitability of buildings. Although regularly changing your HVAC air filter can help you protect your IAQ, it won’t necessarily improve it. Read on to discover why indoor air quality matters and what you can do to give yours a boost.
What Is Indoor Air Quality?
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), IAQ refers to the quality of air in and directly around buildings. During normal air exchange, the stale, stagnant air inside homes moves outdoors, and fresh outside air flows in to replace it. If someone smokes cigarettes near your home or if you leave your car idling in your driveway, much of the resulting exhaust and smoke chemicals will find their way into your living space via gaps and cracks in building materials. Thus, when you think about your IAQ and all of the things that impact it, you need to account for any contaminant-producing activities that are performed nearby.
IAQ accounts for relatively large-sized particulate debris. For instance, if you have a cat or dog, you likely also have fair amounts of pet dander and pet hair floating throughout your home. Other common airborne particulates include dust, pollen, dust mites, and textile and carpet fibers.
IAQ also accounts for a range of gaseous chemical contaminants. Many of these are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are produced while cooking or off-gassed by building materials. In homes with fuel-burning appliances and sump pumps, IAQ tests measure for gases like radon and carbon monoxide (CO) as well.
Finally, every home has living or active pathogens floating in the air. Some of these are introduced into building interiors via uncovered coughs and sneezes. However, they include mold, mildew, and other fungi that naturally thrive in warm, most conditions.
How Indoor Air Quality Is Measured
Professional IAQ services include indoor air quality testing. IAQ assessments determine which allergens, gaseous contaminants, and pathogens are present. They also list the concentrations of each. The EPA and other regulatory bodies have established guidelines or acceptable limits for common contaminants. Tools like VOC sensors determine whether or not indoor air falls within these limits.
IAQ assessments help homeowners identify the right mitigation strategies. For instance, if you have large amounts of particulate matter floating throughout your home, you might want to upgrade your HVAC air filter or install a whole-house air purifier. However, if your home is rife with mold due to unchecked humidity, installing a whole-house dehumidifier will prove more effective.
Humidity and IAQ
Imbalanced humidity is a common cause of IAQ problems like mold and mildew. Although your HVAC system offers limited humidity regulation, this support may not be enough on its own to keep issues with fast-growing fungi at bay. Unchecked humidity makes building interiors feel muggy and oppressive. It also sets the stage for progressive building damage. Having too much moisture in the air can lead to warped sub-floors and floors, blistered and peeling paint, and discolored drywall, among other things.
Air conditioners, condensing furnaces, and heat pumps extract excess moisture during operation and then route it outdoors as condensation. Not only are they incapable of extracting all excess moisture all of the time, but they’re also unable to add more moisture when it’s needed. For both building materials and building residents, overly dry indoor air can be just as problematic as overly moist air.
How Dry Indoor Air Can Affect Your Health and Your Home
Moisture weighs loose particulates down. This is why many homes are described as being both dry and dusty at once. When there’s adequate moisture in the air, dust, dander, pet hair, and pollen settle on floors, counters, and other surfaces that homeowners can easily wipe clean.
Dry indoor air can lead to cracked or warped wood elements and other adverse, structural changes. The extra debris floating in this air can clog furnace intake valves, coat flame sensors, and thermocouples, and it can cause start-up problems or other HVAC performance issues.
HVAC Air Filters and Indoor Air Quality
To protect your IAQ and your HVAC equipment, you should regularly change your HVAC air filter. Homeowners should check their air filters once each month and change them every one to three months. Although standard air filters can keep many common particulates out of your living space, some dust, dander, and other debris will slip right by them.
The primary job of HVAC air filters is protecting HVAC equipment, not human health. These components can’t capture and retain mold or other pathogens, and they can’t deactivate or remove VOCs or other gaseous contaminants.
Filter Upgrades
To improve your indoor air quality, you can try increasing your HVAC air filter’s rating. All HVAC air filters come with maximum efficiency reporting value (MERV) ratings. These ratings run from one through 20, with 20 being the highest rating possible. Standard air filters have MERV ratings of up to eight. Upgrading to a filter with a MERV rating of 10 or greater will leave you with a higher IAQ, cleaner indoor surfaces, and a healthier living environment overall.
Upgraded HVAC air filters have larger surface areas and tighter filter mesh. However, while these attributes improve IAQ, they also inhibit airflow. Each time you raise your air filter’s rating, airflow throughout your HVAC systems declines. Thus, it’s best to choose upgraded components with the help of seasoned HVAC technicians.
The Signs and Symptoms of a Low IAQ
There are many signs of poor and fast-decreasing indoor air quality. As concentrations of pathogens, allergens, and gaseous chemicals rise, everyone throughout your home could suffer. You might notice:
- Diminished comfort
- Decreased sleep quality
- Frequent bouts of coughing, sneezing, or wheezing
- Nasal congestion and sinus irritation
Certain IAQ concerns such as excessively dry indoor air can also cause alarming symptoms like frequent nighttime nosebleeds.
Having a poor IAQ can be especially problematic for residents with chronic respiratory ailments. People who suffer from asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and allergies may experience heightened symptoms or more frequent “attacks” or events. Having a low IAQ is also detrimental to people living with terminal illnesses and low immunity, aging adults, and newborn infants.
Your IAQ and Your Mental Health
There’s also a very real connection between IAQ and mental health. According to research performed by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, low IAQ is associated with both increased anxiety symptoms and heightened depression.
Start Your Journey to Healthy Indoor Air With an IAQ Assessment
Scheduling an IAQ assessment is an important step in creating a healthier and more comfortable home. These evaluations point out fixable problems throughout buildings such as slab leaks, leaky sump pump caps, and back-drafting appliances. They list all indoor air contaminants and their concentrations, measure humidity, and more. With the data supplied by an IAQ assessment, you can eliminate hidden health hazards and find the best integrated HVAC accessories for reaching your goals. Options like sanitizing UV lights, air scrubbers, and humidifiers can make a world of difference when they address building and resident-specific IAQ concerns.
Founded in 1984, we proudly serve Richmond, VA and the surrounding area. We offer outstanding heating, cooling, plumbing, and indoor air quality services. To find out about our HVAC preventative maintenance agreements or schedule an IAQ assessment, contact Davis & Green now.
