Missouri Homeowner’s Guide to Dry Indoor Air

January 10, 2024

Proper indoor air quality has a major influence on people’s health and happiness. But breathing in dry air can cause a host of problems. These problems range from irritated respiratory tracts to warped wood furniture. To have a healthy home, it’s important to know what produces dry indoor air and how it affects people. Let’s take a look at the top causes of dry air. We’ll also cover how it affects you and your house and nine practical remedies. Causes of Dry Indoor Air A number of things may cause dry air to build up in a house, which can be very uncomfortable and even dangerous. The use of heating systems, particularly in the winter, is a common cause of low humidity. Seasonal changes, especially in colder regions, have the potential to make dryness even worse. Factors that lead to low humidity include overheating living environments and the usage of certain equipment. Another factor is the absence of moisture sources, such as houseplants or clothes dried in the air. A lack of natural ventilation, airtight housing, and environmental variables like low relative humidity also play a role. For a healthier and more pleasant interior climate, it is essential to identify...

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What’s the Difference Between an Air Purifier and an Air Scrubber?

December 8, 2023

There are many ways to clean the air in your O’Fallon, MO home. While HVAC air filters remove common allergens and contaminants, there’s a lot that passes right through them. Upgrading this component could provide limited improvements, but adding an integrated HVAC accessory is far more effective. Whole-house air purifiers and air scrubbers eliminate mold, viruses, bacteria, and harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) among other things. Having either of these options installed is a great way to boost your indoor air quality (IAQ) and protect the health of your household. The following is everything you need to know about these increasingly popular IAQ technologies, including how they differ. What Is an Air Scrubber? Air scrubbers are frequently used in the clean rooms of research facilities. They’re also found in hospitals and industrial environments. Air scrubbers create clean spaces from floor to ceiling by filtering the indoor air and weighing airborne contaminants down. Installed in HVAC ductwork, they offer multi-stage air filtration to eliminate the allergens, pathogens, and contaminants that have slipped right through standard air filters. As with all HVAC and IAQ equipment, not all air scrubbers are the same. Some models include high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters that eliminate...

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Energy Efficiency and Indoor Air Quality: Friends or Foes?

October 10, 2023

There has been lots of debate in recent years about the link between a building’s energy efficiency and its indoor air quality and whether you can really ever have high energy efficiency and high air quality at the same time. There’s plenty of evidence that directly shows that improved energy efficiency often leads to a decrease in indoor air quality. The good news is that it doesn’t always have to, as you can have a home that’s extremely energy-efficient without having to worry about air quality. In this guide, we’ll discuss the ways that energy efficiency and air quality are often related and what options you have for improving either one without having to sacrifice the other. How Improved Energy Efficiency Can Negatively Affect Indoor Air Quality Construction practices and building materials have vastly improved in the past few decades. These advancements have allowed modern buildings to be far more energy-efficient, which is obviously important for saving homeowners money and lessening the environmental impact of their homes. Unfortunately, the improved energy efficiency of modern buildings has also resulted in them having more indoor air quality issues. Older buildings aren’t poorly built per se, but most of them definitely aren’t all...

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7 Ways to Improve Your Indoor Air Quality With HVAC Technology

August 1, 2023

Did you know that the air outside of your O’Fallon, MO home might be cleaner than your air indoors? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that the indoor concentrations of certain pollutants are up to five times higher than the concentrations outside. This remains true even when homeowners have high-performing and well-maintained HVAC systems. The good news is that there are several ways to reduce indoor air pollution with HVAC technologies. The following are seven of them. 1. Take Advantage of the “V” in HVAC HVAC stands for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. Unfortunately, many companies and consumers overlook the “V” in HVAC. This is especially true now that the emphasis is on improving the efficiency of heating and cooling equipment by tightening home envelopes. Although having a tight home envelope prevents your heated and cooled air from escaping outdoors, an overly tight envelope also prevents fresh, outdoor air from flowing in. Excessively tight home envelopes keep toxins trapped inside and create stale, stagnant, and often unpleasant-smelling air. Buildings typically “breathe” through a process known as induction whereby indoor air seeps out through cracks and gaps in building materials and outside air replaces it. As you seal up openings around...

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Ways to Measure Indoor Air Pollution

May 4, 2023

Indoor air pollution is a severe problem that can significantly impact your health. Poor ventilation, inadequate filtration, and emissions from building materials, furnishings, cleaning products, and other sources can all contribute to the issue. Measuring indoor air quality (IAQ) can be helpful for identifying any problems with the air quality in your home. Once you are aware there is a problem, you can then take steps to reduce pollutants in your house. Fortunately, several methods are available to measure indoor air pollution. Get an Air Quality Monitor An air quality monitor is a device that measures the air quality and pollutants present in a closed area, including the levels of particulate matter and other harmful substances. You can use these devices to test different parts of your living space and detect high levels of pollutants. Wall-mounted air quality monitors can be placed in the common areas throughout your home. Some smart thermostats even come with IAQ sensors built in, while many air quality monitors, in addition to pollutants, measure humidity levels and temperature to give you a fuller picture of your IAQ. These monitors and thermostats should not be mounted in direct sunlight or above vents for the most accurate...

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Do HVAC UV Lights for AC Systems Work?

March 17, 2023

Indoor air is a significant concern for homeowners, especially those with respiratory issues or allergies. Fortunately, HVAC UV lights have emerged as a promising solution for improving indoor air quality. But do they work? In this article, we’ll explore the science behind HVAC UV lights, their effectiveness in killing harmful microorganisms, and their benefits. What Are HVAC UV Lights? HVAC UV lights are ultraviolet lights installed in the air conditioning system to destroy bacteria, viruses, and other harmful pathogens that can grow in the air ducts and on the AC coils. These UV lights emit a specific wavelength of ultraviolet radiation that destroys the DNA of microorganisms, rendering them harmless. How Do HVAC UV Lights Work? The science behind HVAC UV lights is straightforward. UV-C light, the ultraviolet light used in these systems, is lethal to microorganisms because it destroys their DNA. When microorganisms are exposed to UV-C light, the light damages their DNA. It prevents them from reproducing, rendering them harmless. HVAC UV lights are installed in the air conditioning system to irradiate the air that passes through the system. As air circulates through the air ducts and over the AC coils, any microorganisms present will be exposed to...

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Determining Your Home’s Ideal Humidity Level

January 2, 2023

The ideal humidity level for residential homes varies on a household-by-household basis. You may not realize how big of an impact your humidity has on your family’s health. Determining the best level for your home can lower your bills, protect your health and ensure your year-round comfort. Keep reading to learn more about the importance of maintaining a healthy humidity level all year long. Ideal Humidity Range Generally, you’re recommended to have a humidity level between 30% and 60%. The average amount of airborne moisture in your home can fluctuate based on the number of people living there, everyday activities, the season and more. For example, the air tends to be drier during the winter because of the colder temperatures. Heating your home with a furnace will dry the air out even further. The constant rain and high temperature during the summer will have the opposite effect, skyrocketing your humidity level into uncomfortable territory. You shouldn’t rely on ventilation alone to protect your humidity level. Utilizing dehumidifiers or humidifiers as needed is the best way to guarantee control over your humidity no matter the season. High Humidity Warning Signs High humidity in the home can make the air feel thick,...

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What’s an Air Scrubber and How Does It Work?

December 20, 2022

Over the past decade, air scrubbers have become increasingly popular because of their ability to get rid of indoor air contaminants. Before you have an air scrubber installed in your home, you should know how this piece of equipment works and why it should be used in place of an air purifier. Even though air purifiers are able to treat the air in one room, scrubbers can treat an entire home. If you purchase one of these systems, we can install it for you. Air Scrubber Types There are two primary types of air scrubbers that you can purchase for your home, which include portable air scrubbers and integrated air scrubbers. Portable air scrubbers are regularly used when performing home renovations or similar indoor projects. These projects can send ample amounts of contaminants into your indoor air, which a portable air scrubber can effectively remove. Once the project is completed, you can place the air scrubber in storage until it’s needed again. These systems aren’t meant to be permanent aspects of your home. They are typically available as weekly or daily rentals. Portable air scrubbers usually have an industrial design that’s outfitted with exhaust tubes. The contaminants that are removed...

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5 Steps to Better Indoor Air Quality

January 22, 2021

Poor indoor air quality is often to blame for a runny nose, itchy eyes, or asthma attacks. Indoor air pollutants come from many sources. Dust, pet dander and fur, pollen, mold spores, volatile organic compounds, and excess humidity are common types of indoor pollutants. Most homes don’t have all of these pollutants at once, but one or more of them could bother you or even threaten your health. No one is helpless in the face of these irritants. You can take steps to identify and correct your problems. A little vigilance and the right equipment can substantially improve your indoor air quality. Change Furnace Filters Regularly People with forced-air heat have filters between a furnace and its intake for circulating air. A furnace filter is an easy thing to forget because it’s out of sight and out of mind. The furnace filter grabs dust, pollen, and other debris circulating through your ducts. This helps to eliminate the dust that constantly infiltrates any home. The filter also serves to protect your heating system by preventing a troublesome buildup of dirt that will interfere with heating equipment operation. When filters go unchanged, air ceases to move easily through the system. Your furnace...

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A Beginner’s Guide to Indoor Air Quality

September 10, 2020

It used to be that our technicians worked mostly with heating and air conditioning systems. After all, is the company O’Fallon residents can trust to keep their homes at the right temperature. However, our expertise has expanded beyond the reading on your thermostat. Our experienced technicians also work with equipment that will improve the quality of your air. Signs of Poor Indoor Air Quality People often take the air they breathe for granted. They assume that if there is no visible pollution, it must be clean. Think about what you see when a sunbeam shines through a window. Particles of dust float lazily in the light. If it is in your air, you and your family members are inhaling it with each breath. Your body does a decent job of filtering out some impurities. But smaller impurities make it through your natural defenses. When your home has poor air quality, you will see a variety of symptoms. People who are prone to allergies may develop a runny nose and cough. Irritants in the air can trigger asthma attacks in people with this condition. Chemicals floating in your air supply can cause headaches, poor sleep and an overall sense of feeling...

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