Living in New York gives you lots of opportunities to enjoy endless summer activities. But it also comes with several drawbacks, such as outdoor air pollution that can affect the air quality inside your home. Take for example, all the traffic congestion and construction that occurs in the summer in New York. This can make your home stuffy and filled with outdoor pollutants. Fortunately, there are several tips you can follow to prevent air quality problems and keep your home comfortable.
Schedule a Professional HVAC Tune-Up
Many parts of professional HVAC tune-ups help with indoor air quality. By wiping down coils, blower components, and air handlers, this keeps dust and debris from circulating through your home. By adding lubrication to moving parts, the system can run smoothly, so there’s less friction, noise, and wear. Making small adjustments like tightening electrical connections or calibrating the thermostat will also help with efficiency. This improves air quality by reducing airborne particles and maintaining consistent airflow throughout your home.
Replace Your Air Filters Regularly
When filters clog with dust and debris, it makes it nearly impossible for the HVAC system to circulate air properly. This turns into major hazards for air quality by trapping pollutants and reducing airflow. Thankfully, there’s a simple way to avoid this issue—just keep the air filter changed regularly. For regular HVACs, this entails changing the filter once every 30 to 60 days. For ductless models, you’ll need to change the filter every two weeks. If you have pets in the home, more frequent filter changes are usually necessary. You don’t want pet hair and dander to build up and recirculate through the air, which will only worsen allergies and lower indoor air quality.
Use a High-Quality Air Purifier
A lot of homes throughout New York, especially those in older buildings or near high-traffic areas, experience major problems with air quality. The dust and outdoor pollutants turn into lingering airborne particles, which impact respiratory health by triggering allergies and asthma symptoms. In these homes, a high-quality air purifier will prove of the utmost value. There are many models to choose from, including HEPA filters, activated carbon purifiers, and UV air purifiers. HEPA models clean indoor air by capturing 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 microns. Activated carbon units use special filters to trap odors, smoke, and chemical vapors to keep the indoor air clean and fresh. UV versions take advantage of ultraviolet light to boost air purity by killing airborne bacteria and viruses. An air quality technician from WK Mechanical, Inc. can help you choose the right purifier for your space and needs.
Keep Windows Closed During High-Pollen Days
March through June is when the highest amount of pollen tends to float throughout the air. You don’t want this pollen making its way into your home because it will worsen allergies and asthma. By keeping your windows closed during peak pollen season, you’ll prevent allergens from settling on furniture, flooring, and in your HVAC system. This not only makes the air cleaner and healthier to breathe but also reduces wear on the HVAC. As a result, your heating and cooling equipment will last longer and perform better.
Control Indoor Humidity With a Dehumidifier
Summertime in New York can be incredibly hot and humid. If you don’t take certain precautions, you’ll end up with mold growth from the extra moisture. Mold does much more than worsen allergies and asthma. It also causes structural issues like wood rot and drywall damage. With a whole-home dehumidifier, you can easily control indoor humidity levels. The dehumidifier will kick on each time the HVAC system runs so it can automatically remove excess moisture from the air.
Use Exhaust Fans in Kitchens and Bathrooms
Another way to boost humidity control in your home for better air quality is to use kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans. These fans remove excess moisture and steam when you’re showering or cooking, so you don’t have to worry about mold growth or lingering humidity.
Add Indoor Plants That Help Purify the Air
There are lots of indoor plants that help with air quality by absorbing toxins and releasing oxygen. For example, the spider plant gets rid of pollutants like formaldehyde by filtering them through its leaves. A peace lily plant does double duty by removing mold spores and increasing humidity to ease dry indoor air. In addition to helping with air quality, these plants work great as decor accents.
Call the Pros
WK Mechanical, Inc. offers several air quality solutions so that you can enjoy cleaner, healthier air at home. Our UV air purifiers neutralize airborne bacteria and eliminate odors for improved comfort year-round.
Call WK Mechanical, Inc. now to access reliable air quality services in Middletown, NY.
