Improving Indoor Air Quality In A Home With A Forced-Air Furnace

If your home has an electric forced-air furnace that continually recycles the air from inside of your home versus bringing in fresh air from the outdoors, then keeping the system clean is of the utmost importance if you want good indoor air quality.

In theory, all of the various dust and pollen particles found in your home's air would be trapped in the HVAC system's filter and permanently removed. However, in most cases, this isn't what actually happens much of the time. Unless you are using the proper filter and taking other steps to proactively remove indoor air contaminants, there's a good chance your HVAC system is continually recirculating dust, mold spores, and other harmful particles.

There are many steps you can take to improve your home's air quality, including:

Open Windows on Days with No Wind

If you keep your home's windows closed all of the time, then the indoor air quality will drop. Instead, you should open up some windows on days when the weather permits to allow the stale air in your house to be exchanged by fresh air from outside. If you have family members who suffer from dust or pollen allergies, then select days where there is little to no wind to ventilate without introducing a ton of new pollen and dust particles into your home.

Install a HEPA Filter

If you select HVAC system filters by their lowest price, then it's a guarantee your current filter isn't doing a decent job of filtering particulate matter out of your indoor air. Simply upgrading to a HEPA filter will greatly improve your air quality. HEPA filters are more expensive than their competitors, but they are also guaranteed to remove many times more particles.

Have the HVAC System Cleaned

Since your residential HVAC system is continually processing air, it will invariably collect a lot of dust. Even if you clean your house every day and don't have any pets, the system will still get dusty. As the dust builds up on the furnace's mechanical parts, it lowers your home's indoor air quality and can lead to future mechanical problems and even house fires.

To avoid these problems, the system needs to be professionally cleaned every year or two. At a minimum, the furnace parts should be cleaned, and if you want to really improve your indoor air quality, then the entire duct system should be cleaned and disinfected.

Learn more from an HVAC company that offers furnace repair and air duct cleaning services.


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