When Should You Get Your Indoor Air Quality Tested?
When you are relaxing or hosting celebrations in your Deptford home, you want to ensure that everyone can breathe easily. If your indoor air quality is poor, this could negatively alter the comfort of everyone inside your home. Learning about the signs of poor indoor air quality and some common ways to improve it will ensure that you enjoy every minute you spend inside your home.
Allergies and Respiratory Irritation
If you have pre-existing allergies, poor air quality may make your symptoms worse. With indoor pollutants, you may experience itchy throat, watery eyes and skin rashes. If you have asthma, airborne allergens could make your symptoms worse.
Respiratory irritation is also possible with poor indoor air quality. Symptoms could include sneezing, stuffy or runny nose, coughing and throat irritation. If you notice that your symptoms get worse when you are at home and improve when you are away, it could be due to your indoor air quality.
Persistent Odors
You might notice musty or unpleasant odors when there are issues with your indoor air quality. This could indicate the presence of mildew, mold or other pollutants in the air. These odors may be most persistent in areas of your home that experience dampness, such as your basement, bathrooms or your laundry room. You might also notice that the air in your home has a staleness to it.
Dizziness and Fatigue
You might experience dizziness, fatigue or lightheadedness as a result of poor indoor air quality exposure. When you leave your home, these symptoms improve, possibly indicating an issue with your indoor air quality.
Excessive Dust
Some dust is perfectly normal, but if you notice that it is accumulating excessively, this could be due to an issue with your indoor air quality. Various types of particulate matter, such as pet dander and dust mites can build up on surfaces throughout your home. You might find yourself having to remove it at least two times per week when it is excessive. The general recommendation for dusting is once every 10 to 14 days for common areas, such as end tables and the tops of your dressers.
Visible Mold Growth
In some cases, you only smell something odd, but in other cases, you might actually see mold building up on surfaces throughout your home, such as ceilings or walls. If your home is humid or damp, the risk is higher. Mold can pose a health risk for any person in your home, but especially for those with allergies or respiratory problems.
Improving Indoor Air Quality
If your indoor air quality is a concern, talk to a professional because they can come out and do an assessment. This allows them to determine how poor it is and what is contributing to the problem. Once they do this, they will help you develop a plan to improve it.
Humidity is a common cause of poor air quality. If it is too dry in your home, this can cause respiratory discomfort and dry skin. Too much humidity can contribute to mold and mildew, and the issues that come with them. Ideally, you want to get your indoor humidity between 30 and 50 percent.
Poor ventilation is another common cause of issues with your indoor air quality. You might notice poor air circulation or that your home feels stuffy. Addressing the ventilation issues can make it easier to breathe and result in less dust accumulation in your home.
Create a regular cleaning schedule if you do not have one already. Develop a short-term plan that you will implement weekly for all of the common areas and surfaces. Then, create a long-term plan that you tackle at the start of every season for places that you do not clean regularly, such as behind your appliances or underneath your furniture.
A professional can also help you decide if an air purification system could be helpful. These work to decrease the buildup of indoor air pollutants. Consider those that use a HEPA filter since they work to catch tiny particles.
Air Quality Experts in Deptford
The air quality in your Deptford home has a significant impact on how comfortable you are when you are inside the house. Our experts can help you to assess your air quality and provide you with solutions to help to make it better. We have a team of professionals that can also assist with your HVAC needs, including cooling and heating.
Call JAMCO Heating & Air Conditioning in Deptford today to learn more about your indoor air quality and how to improve it.
