Why an Energy-Efficient Home Can Influence Air Quality and How to Enhance It 

Residences today are designed with energy efficiency in mind. This involves extra insulation and tightly sealed doors and windows to keep heating and cooling costs affordable. While this is good for your heating and cooling costs, it’s not so good for your indoor air quality. 

Since air has reduced chances to escape, contaminants can increase and impact your house’s indoor air quality. In reality, your house’s air can actually be 2–5 times more polluted than the outdoors, according to the EPA. That’s not good for anyone, but it’s particularly detrimental for loved ones with allergies, asthma, other respiratory concerns or heart disease. 

Let’s discuss some of these everyday contaminants and how you can improve your house’s indoor air quality. 

6 Routine Pollutants that Affect Indoor Air Quality 

When you visualize pollutants, you may think about smog or tobacco smoke. But a lot of substances that impact your air quality are everyday substances. These things include chemicals called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. 

They entail: 

1. Cleaning products, such as aerosol sprays, bleach and window cleaner. 

2. Personal care products, such as hairspray, perfume and nail products. 

3. Candles and air fresheners. 

4. Formaldehyde, which is frequently used in plastic, foam and particleboard products. 

5. Furniture, window treatments and carpet, particularly when they’re brand new. 

6. Paints and stains. 

Other everyday pollutants include: 

• Dust 
• Pet dander 

• Pollen 
• Mold 

Symptoms of VOC Exposure 

Some people are more influenced by VOCs than others. The EPA says symptoms of VOC exposure entail: 

• Irritated eyes, nose or throat 

• Headaches 
• Dizziness 
• Fatigue 

In bad instances, the EPA says VOCs can cause respiratory and heart diseases. 

4 Ways to Enhance Your Residence’s Indoor Air Quality 

It isn’t hard to enhance your house’s air quality. Here are a couple of ideas from Harvard Medical School: 

1. Clean Your Home Often 

Regularly cleaning and washing surfaces that attract allergens, such as furniture, carpet and bedding, will help reduce on dust, dust mites and pet dander in your house. 

2. Routinely Switch Your Air Filter 

This essential filter keeps your house comfy and air healthy. How often you should change your air filter depends on the kind of filter you use. Flat filters should be replaced every month, while pleated filters should be replaced every three months. If you don’t know if your filter should be replaced, remove it and angle it to the light. Get a new one if you can’t see light through it. 

If someone in your house deals with allergies or asthma, we advise having a filter with a better MERV rating. The bigger the number this is, the better your filter is at getting rid of contaminants. 

3. Enhance Natural Ventilation 

Keep fresh air moving by opening windows whenever the temperature allows. We also advise running exhaust fans in your bathroom and kitchen frequently to get rid of pollutants and bring in more fresh air. 

4. Chat Our Indoor Air Quality Pros 

From whole-home air purifiers, Robinson Service Experts has a fix to help your household breathe better. We’ll help you choose the best option during your free home comfort assessment. Give us a call at 847-306-8730 to request yours now!