Indoor Air Quality

With the amount of time Americans spend indoors, you want to be sure the air you’re breathing is clean. But that’s not always the case. Your home’s indoor air quality, or IAQ, can be much lower than the outdoor air you breathe. Surprisingly, your indoor air has been measured to contain two to five times more pollutants than exist outdoors and has been linked to various illnesses. At A-1 Mechanical & Electric we can help improve your indoor air quality.

It Could Just Be Your Air

You may think you have a case of the flu, but it could be your home’s air that’s causing your symptoms. Many people come down with symptoms similar to those of a cold, allergies, or the flu, but in reality their indoor air quality is poor and that’s the actual culprit. The same holds true for other illnesses or health issues, especially chronic illnesses. What’s thought to be caused by something else could actually have been triggered by the contaminants in your air.

Some common signs of poor indoor air quality are upper-respiratory congestion, sore throats, headaches, fatigue, sneezing, coughing, dizziness, and nose bleeds. Continued exposure can lead to or trigger more serious illnesses like infections, heart disease, asthma, and various cancers.

How Could It Be the Air?

The way homes are now built leaves them extremely well sealed. Air doesn’t find its way in and out as much as it used to or does with older homes. And here is Las Vegas, NV, with our higher temperatures outdoors, we’re rarely prone to opening our windows, contributing to inadequate ventilation. With this lack of airflow, contaminants become trapped inside, excluded from mixing with cleaner, fresh outdoor air.

These contaminants in your home originate from anything in your home that releases particles or gas, or causes combustion. Some common sources are personal-care and cleaning products, building materials, furnishings, air fresheners, tobacco, and carpeting. If you haven’t maintained your heating-and-cooling system properly, this can definitely exacerbate things. Your dirty air filters and ducts will contribute to dust and mites in the air. Any extra moisture or dampness existing in your home from leaks, high humidity, or an unmaintained humidifier or dehumidifier can create bacteria and mold, which will also be floating around in the air.

Proper HVAC Maintenance Helps

One of the purposes of your heating-and-cooling, or HVAC, system is to help provide proper ventilation and filtration in your home. When you properly manage your system’s regular maintenance, your system will aid in improving your indoor air quality. Clean air ducts transport clean air throughout your home, while clean filters trap many of these damaging particles so they don’t make it to your home’s general airflow. Maintaining your home’s humidifier and dehumidifier keeps bacteria and mold at bay, preventing you from breathing them in.

A few practices our experts recommend to help combat poor indoor air quality are replacing and maintaining your air filters regularly; having your ductwork checked for leaks; cleaning your humidifiers and dehumidifiers regularly; ensuring proper ventilation when cleaning, using personal-care products, painting, or using fuel-burning appliances; vacuuming and dusting on a regular basis; and installing a carbon monoxide detector.

We at A-1 Mechanical & Electric want you to be comfortable and healthy in your home. To help achieve this, we promote clean indoor air. Call our experts today at 702.363.6222 to learn more about how we can help you improve your indoor air quality.