4 HVAC Tips for Better Indoor Air Quality

Keep these tips in mind to greatly improve air quality in your St. Louis home.

Have you ever heard about “building syndrome?” It basically refers to the symptoms associated with poor indoor air quality in office buildings and is generally shown to be caused by faulty HVAC systems. An HVAC system can affect our health in numerous ways, but most of them appear when the unit is installed incorrectly or needs repairs.

If you have breathing problems that seem to coincide with the use of the air conditioning, or that start appearing when you get indoors, you might want to check the HVAC system. The most common symptoms are sneezing, coughing, stuffy nose, rashes, runny eyes, and joint pain. People with allergies, asthma or going through a cold or flu are the most affected by poor air quality.

So, what can you do to improve the quality of the indoor air and your health?

1. Replace the Air Filters Often

The manufacturer of the HVAC system will recommend a certain interval to change or clean the air filters. Never exceed that time. In fact, you may even decide to do it more often than recommended, especially if you have extra pollutants, like pets or a dusty environment. Neglecting the maintenance of the HVAC system is extremely dangerous for your health and everyone who needs to live and work in that air.

2. Maintain the Temperature at a Constant Level

Cooling the indoor air too much, compared to the air outside, or varying the temperature too much does not ensure a comfortable, healthy environment. A well-functioning HVAC system should keep a constant temperature and humidity in every room, and not force your body to constantly have to adapt to differences in temperature.

3.Control the Air Humidity

Sometimes, the symptoms you are having because of the indoor air are not caused by pollutants or temperature fluctuations, but by uncontrolled levels of air humidity. Air that is too dry will give you dry, itchy skin, and dry eyes. It will also worsen your cough or stuffy nose, give you allergy-like symptoms and affect your sleep and productivity. Mostly, the air gets too dry during the winter months, when heat is constantly being pumped into the building.

On the other hand, if the moisture levels are too high, you might get mold, which is very dangerous for your health and hard to get rid of.

Try to keep a constant level of air humidity, between 40% and 60%. Measure it at all times with a hygrometer to make sure you are keeping it within the desired parameters. Modern HVAC units can do that for you automatically, but you can also add auxiliary appliances to your HVAC system or get autonomous ones.

4. Purify the Air

All HVAC systems filter the air that gets sucked and goes through the system. However, the regular HVAC filters only keep big particles away, like some of the dust, hairs, etc. If you want to improve the air quality, you may consider getting an air purifier. It uses a HEPA filter that will stop small particles from circulating back in the indoor air. This way, you get rid of mites, viruses, micro-organisms, etc.

Keep these tips in mind to greatly improve air quality in your St. Louis home.