Professional Indoor Air Quality Solutions
If you don’t currently do so, we recommend scheduling seasonal HVAC maintenance. Book a cooling tune-up in the spring and a heating tune-up in the fall. There are many reasons to do this, but chief among them is your indoor air quality. Our technicians will clean all your HVAC equipment and help ensure it doesn’t contribute to bad IAQ.
We also encourage Maplewood homeowners to use a premium HVAC filter, check it monthly, and replace it as needed. You should also use the highest MERV filter your system supports. MERV stands for minimum efficiency reporting value and indicates filter effectiveness. At MERV 13, which most modern systems support, your filter will remove 90% of all allergens.
Consider a whole-house air purifier as well. These systems can filter all the air in your home five or more times an hour. Many have a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. HEPA filters trap at least 99.97% of all particles that pass through them. They often have activated carbon, which absorbs odors, gases, and chemicals.
As an alternative or in addition, you can consider the Aerus Hydroxyl Blaster. This system disperses hydrogen peroxide particles into the air to bind with and neutralize pollutants. An advantage of this approach is that filtration occurs throughout the entire home.
Relative humidity (RH) also plays a vital role in IAQ, and experts recommend a 30% to 50% RH. That can be difficult to maintain with heating and cooling alone, so you may need either a dehumidifier or a humidifier. A dehumidifier keeps the RH at 50% or lower in summer. A humidifier keeps the RH at 30% or higher in winter.
Improved IAQ in the home can have many health benefits:
- Fewer headaches
- More restful sleep
- Not as much fatigue
- Less respiratory irritation
- Reduced allergy symptoms
