The air quality inside your Bellingham, WA home impacts how you feel, the quality of your sleep, your mental health and the integrity of your HVAC system. Unfortunately, many homeowners don’t realize that their indoor air quality is poor. In some cases, indoor air quality (IAQ) can be worse than what’s outside.
Our team at Marr's Heating, AC, Plumbing and Electrical can help you achieve optimal indoor air quality using testing and whole-home purification.
Is Indoor Air Quality Testing Worth It?
Scheduling indoor air quality testing is a great way to tackle indoor air quality issues. This testing provides us with key information regarding the types of particulate matter and contaminants that are circulating through your home. Once we know what we’re dealing with, we can help you come up with a plan of action to improve your IAQ.
We typically recommend that you schedule periodic air quality testing. Future testing can determine if your methods of improving your air quality are working. This also allows us to spot any new IAQ issues.
There are several demographics of people who benefit from regular IAQ testing. Those who deal with chronic allergies may see an improvement in their symptoms when cleaner air is circulating in the home. The same applies for people with asthma, chronic respiratory conditions and other health issues. It’s beneficial to know what kind of allergens you are dealing with.
If you’ve recently had any construction work done in your home, you may have a lot of particulate matter built up inside your ductwork and HVAC equipment. Even if you’ve had IAQ testing performed recently, remodeling work warrants a one-off test.
Indoor air quality testing can help identify the source of unusual odors. For example, the presence of mold, which can have serious health effects, may be detected. Mold can have devastating effects on your health, as it can increase allergies, asthma and breathing difficulties and make you feel generally unwell.
If you live in an area that has high levels of pollution due to nearby highways or factories, consider indoor air quality testing. You’ll achieve peace of mind if you learn that contamination levels in your home are low. If they are high, we can help you take immediate action.
What Kind of Contaminants Does Testing Spot?
An indoor air quality test usually includes taking samples of surfaces in your home as well as air samples. Some of the contaminants we can find using IAQ testing include dust, dust mites, mold spores, pollen, pet dander and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It’s important to have testing performed throughout your home to spot varying conditions. You may have mold in your basement but not upstairs in your living spaces. Concentrations of VOCs may be higher in newly remodeled areas.
Carbon monoxide is an invisible and odorless gas that can come from things like gas appliances, heating systems and automobiles in a nearby garage or driveway. Our testing methods can spot high levels of carbon monoxide. If you and your family members are exposed to levels of CO higher than 800 ppm, you can experience symptoms like headaches, dizziness and nausea, eventually leading to death with ongoing exposure.
In addition to indoor air quality testing performed by our team, maintain carbon monoxide detectors throughout your home. The best locations for these detectors are near sleeping areas, on each level of your home and near your fuel-burning appliances. Periodically test your detectors and change their batteries. Detectors will usually come with a life expectancy of five to seven years. Be sure to replace them when this time frame comes around.
Radon gas is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that originates from the decay of uranium in the soil, rock and groundwater around your foundation. If you have any cracks in your foundation, radon gas can leak into your home. Well water can pose a risk as well. Radon can dissolve in groundwater and be released into your air through steam when showering, cooking or cleaning.
Exposure to radon gas can make you very sick and increase your risk of lung cancer. We can spot radon gas with indoor air quality testing. Methods of radon remediation include sealing up cracks and gaps where the gas is coming inside. Then, a radon gas mitigation system should be installed.
This includes a vent pipe and fan that draws the gas from underneath your home and expels it outside before it can pollute your living environment. Keep up with the inspection and maintenance of these mitigation systems to ensure healthy and safe indoor air quality.
Improving Indoor Air Quality
There are several ways that we can improve the quality of the air inside your home. These methods may change as time goes on and we gather new information from testing. An important step is always to check the condition of your ducts. If they’re poorly-sealed or damaged, dust and pollutants will escape into your home as your HVAC system runs. After a thorough repair and Aeroseal duct sealing, this release of contaminants (and conditioned air loss) will stop, improving your air quality.
Here are some other steps you can take.
Consider Your HVAC Filter
If you’re dealing with high concentrations of particulate matter in your air, your HVAC filter likely isn’t sufficient to bring levels down to a healthy degree. We can help you determine if you can upgrade your HVAC filter without compromising airflow and causing system strain. Filters are usually rated using the minimum-efficiency reporting value scale, or MERV for short. The higher the MERV rating, the better the filtration ability.
Most residential HVAC systems utilize filters that are rated between 8 and 12 MERV. Anything higher than that would be restrictive and impede airflow through your HVAC system. When airflow is disrupted, this can force your heating and cooling equipment to work harder to heat and cool your home. It’s possible to experience more frequent equipment malfunctions and a shorter life expectancy of your furnace or air conditioner.
Investing in Whole-Home Filtration Equipment
To remove more particulate matter than your HVAC filter can provide, we recommend investing in a whole-home air filtration device. We can install this unit right onto your HVAC system, addressing the air that runs through your heating and cooling equipment. In many cases, you can remove as much as 99.97% of the particulate matter in your air, especially if you’re using something like a high-efficiency particulate air filter, or HEPA for short.
Regularly change or clean the filter in your purification equipment. The exact frequency will depend on the unit you have, the type of filter you’re using and how frequently your HVAC system runs. We can help you come up with a maintenance plan that will support your IAQ while protecting the integrity of your filtration equipment.
Keep Up With Inspections and Maintenance
Schedule a professional inspection for your HVAC system at least once per year. During this appointment, we check various components, lubricate moving parts, make minor repairs, tighten loose connections and more. This can go a long way towards ensuring your HVAC system and any attached filtration equipment are running efficiently and effectively.
Reach Out to the Pros
Marr's Heating, AC, Plumbing and Electrical can provide professional indoor air quality testing to residents in the Bellingham area. We can also inspect your HVAC system, perform routine maintenance and address emergency repairs. Contact Marr's Heating, AC, Plumbing and Electrical today to schedule an appointment in Bellingham today.
