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Improving Air Quality in Your Home

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Good air quality in the home provides the environment all of us need to live comfortably and stay healthy.

Why is good air quality important? If you suffer from respiratory conditions such as asthma or allergies, you know how important it is to reduce the odds of a flare-up or full-blown respiratory attack.

Here are some things to know about improving the air quality in your home.

Poor Air Quality Triggers

In addition to the after-effects of sewer or water damage, there are many every day biological contaminants that reduce indoor air quality and can trigger an asthma or other respiratory attacks.

  • Mold and mildew due to excessive moisture in and around the home
  • Bacteria and contaminants from water damage or sewer backups
  • Dried rodent droppings (which become airborne)
  • Contaminated insulation, carpeting

Three Ways to Improve Indoor Air Quality

Eliminate Sources of Poor Air Quality

Getting rid of the source of indoor pollutants can help improve indoor air quality.

Indoor pollutant sources include, but are not limited to:

  • Building materials (flooring, carpeting, furniture, remodeling materials)
  • Black mold and other types of fungus
  • High humidity levels (above desired humidity level of between 30-50 percent)
  • Inadequate ventilation

Improve Ventilation

A simple solution to improving indoor air quality is to let more outdoor air inside.

Even the most energy efficient HVAC system can’t bring fresh air indoors. Here are ways to bring fresh air inside:

  • Open doors and windows.
  • Running fans or an open vent window air conditioning unit.
  • Exhaust fans to not only eliminate contaminants from a bathroom or kitchen but increase the outdoor ventilation rate if vented to the exterior.

There are three different ways to ventilate your home:

Natural

From outside air entering the home through doors and windows

Infiltration

Outside air gets into your home through leaks, cracks, broken seals

Mechanical

Forced air controlled by your HVAC system

Keep in mind that venting is especially important when working directly with contaminants. It’s important to increase ventilation while using oven cleaners, bleach or strong cleaners, paint stripper, paint, or while sanding, staining wood, using gas appliances or the fireplace.

Clean the Air

Air cleaners are available for purchase in a wide range of models and price ranges.

To be effective, look for an air cleaner that both traps indoor air pollutants (efficiency rate percentage) and for how much air is processed through the filter (measured in cubic feet per minute).

Both an efficient level of trapping pollutants and amount of air processed through cleaning filter must be in place to make a difference in air quality.

Conclusion

One of the most common reasons for reduced air quality in the home is due to sources of moisture and dampness found in crawl spaces, basements, kitchens and bathrooms. This is because among other things, excessive moisture breeds bacteria and causes mold to grow, which decreases the air quality in your home.

If you need an expert to complete an inspection and offer valuable recommendations to eliminate risk factors for moisture and mold in your home, contact the mold remediation professionals at RCS in Sonoma County.

5 Tips for Preventing Mold in Your Home

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Mold is a big problem, especially if you live anywhere that experiences humidity in any form, as mold likes to grow in wet or damp places. Mold can have negative side effects on your health. One common mold is known as aspergillus. Most people are exposed to it, but if you have a strong immune system, you may not even realize you have been exposed to it. This type of mold, however, can get into the brain and cause seizures. Aspergillus can also cause meningitis and is marked by severe headaches, fever, and even muscular rigidity. Candida is another type of mold which can detrimentally impact your gastrointestinal system. Candida can also mutate and cause yeast infections in women. This mold is also known to cause thrush, a thick white coating of the mouth and throat. There are many simple ways to help ensure that you and your loved ones are not affected by dangerous mold spores.

1. The most simple tip for preventing mold in your home is to make sure you always take care of wet items, such as towels, cleaning rags, or clothes. Leaving these things in a heap creates an ideal breeding ground for mold.

2. Update your central air system to one that will also monitor the humidity in your home. The United States Environmental Protection Agency suggests a safe zone of between 30%-60% humidity in your house. Condensation is always a dead giveaway for a problem spot in your house. Clean up the moisture and determine its source.

3. Make sure your ventilation system is up to date to help prevent moisture. It’s important to have a well functioning fan in your bathroom, for example, to suck out that excess moisture from your shower. Kitchens, laundry rooms, and any other high-moisture areas, like unfinished basements, should also have good sources of ventilation to help reduce moisture.

4. Clean and disinfect surfaces in your home to help stop mold growth. Disinfectant will help to kill off any established mold, and properly drying surfaces in your home will go a long way to helping prevent future foothold situations.

5. Try a landscape makeover to help direct water away from your home. Help prevent the problem before it can even start. This can be particularly important if you live on some sort of flat surface, a slope aimed toward your house, or if you live in a gulley, or near any type of water source.

To protect your health and that of your loved ones, make sure you check over your home and take these simple steps to help prevent mold growth.