While you may not often think about the quality of air in your home, it can have major impacts on the wellbeing of you and your family. Poor indoor air quality can lead to a range of health issues, including increased risk of becoming ill and worsening allergies and asthma. From the dust and debris created by construction to erratic temperatures throughout the home, here are six indications that your home’s indoor air quality needs improvement.
1. Lingering Odors
Do you find that the smell of dinner remains in your home long after the dishes have been cleaned and put away? Are you smelling odors, but don’t know where they are coming from? These issues could point to problems with your home’s indoor air quality. If your home has poor air ventilation and circulation, dust, dirt, and other particles could remain in the air long after they should have been filtered out by your HVAC system.
2. Frequent Sickness and Worsening Allergies
If you or others in your family increasingly suffer from allergies or sickness, poor indoor air quality may be to blame. Perhaps you find that you’re frequently sneezing and coughing, or that you can’t seem to stop catching a cold. Whatever your symptoms, one clue that they might be caused by indoor air quality is whether the issues flair up while you’re in your home.
3. Recent Construction and Renovation
Home repairs and construction are well-known causes of poor indoor air quality because of the inevitable dust, debris, and chemicals that enter the air. You might not realize how many harmful particulates you are breathing in, so consider having an HVAC professional evaluate the air quality of your house after a home renovation project.
4. Abnormal Amounts of Dust
Every home contains dust. But if you find yourself dusting constantly or discovering dust in areas that used to be relatively clean, you likely have an indoor air quality issue. Dust provides the perfect breeding ground for dust mites, and excessive dust can be particularly harmful to those with allergies and asthma.
5. Uneven Heating in the House
Do some rooms in your house stay uncomfortably warm, while others remain chilly? Uneven heating is a sign of poor indoor air quality, as it may indicate your HVAC system is not working efficiently throughout the home. To improve overall air circulation and quality, have your HVAC unit inspected by a professional.
6. High or Low Humidity
Unusually high or low humidity inside your home is another sign of bad air quality. High humidity provides an excellent environment for mold and other allergens, which can result in health problems for you and your family. Low humidity can be equally problematic by leading to issues like dry skin and an increased risk for becoming ill.
While it is often an afterthought, the indoor air quality of your home has important health implications for you and your family. In some cases, it can be difficult to know if you have good or bad air quality. If your home has one (or multiple) of these characteristics, it may indicate that you need to improve your home’s indoor quality.
Don’t suffer from poor air quality in your home. The team at RSC Heating & Air has years of experience helping homeowners in Lancaster, PA improve their indoor quality. To learn more, contact our team today and see how we can help you.
