Indoor Air Quality Picture

Tips to Breathe Easier in Your Own Home This Winter

Common Indoor Air ProblemsAt Home Comfort Experts, Comfort is our middle name. We make it our business to make sure you’re comfortable in your home. In the winter months, this can be especially challenging. Not only do you have to make sure your family is warm enough, you also have to worry about stale air, humidity issues, and pollutants. Here are a few tips if your home seems less than hospitable.

Problems Caused by Low Humidity

One of the biggest problems we see during the winter months is lack of humidity. In the colder months, we seal our homes up tight against the cold and then run our furnaces almost nonstop. The combination of these two activities creates a drop in humidity. While our homes are warm, they are too dry. Not sure if your home is lacking humidity? Look for these signs:

  • Static shock
  • Dry, itchy skin
  • Nose bleeds
  • Sore throats
  • Dry mouth
  • Chapped lips
  • Persistent coughs
  • Allergy symptoms
  • Cracks in wood molding, furniture
  • Gaps in wood floors, between planks

If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, your home has too little humidity. Luckily, this is easily remedied with the installation of a whole-house humidifier. We can quickly install your humidifier and get you on your way to a more comfortable home. .

Hidden Benefit to Humidifiers – Save on Energy Bills

Here’s some good news: When you install a whole-house humidifier, you can turn the temperature in your home down a few degrees and still feel comfortable. That’s because moist air feels warmer. Because your body is designed to cool itself by sweating (when the moisture on the skin evaporates, it makes you feel cooler), when the air is full of moisture, the sweat on our skin does not evaporate, so we feel warmer.

Problems Caused by Indoor Pollutants

Besides humidity issues, our homes are filled with uninvited pollutants. Fumes from combustion devices and gas-fired appliances, allergens such as pet dander, house dust mites, and even mold and mildew can make the air in our homes less than healthy. This bad air can trigger coughing, chest tightness, sore throat, watery or itchy eyes, shortness of breath, and even a full-blown asthma attack. If you live in a home with poor air quality, you can experience frequent headaches, long lasting colds, and bronchitis.

Duct Cleaning and Dryer Vent Cleaning Removes Contaminants

Removing dust from ductwork and dryer vents not only makes your furnace, AC, and dryer work more efficiently saving you money on energy bills, it helps remove a lot of dust from your home as well. Duct cleaning and duct sealing can make your home more comfortable, energy efficient, and safer. The HEPA-AIRE method used by Home Comfort Experts assures you that your ducts are being cleaned with the most advanced equipment available. This filtration system is so efficient that it captures contaminants 1/300th the diameter of a human hair and returns filtered “hospital grade” air to your home. And don’t forget the dryer vent. Cleaning helps your dryer run more efficiently and can prevents dryer fires.

Air Filters Remove Pollutants from Indoor Air

Besides humidity, pollutants can make your indoor air aggravating to breathe. We offer several different types of air filters to remove these pollutants:

  • HEPA Air Filtration – Hospital grade high-efficiency particulate air cleaner. The highest air filtration possible, removes contaminants down to 0.3 microns, 99.97% efficient.
  • High Efficiency Media Air Cleaner – Removes small breathable particles to one micron.
  • Electronic Air Cleaner – Removes small breathable particles and other bioaerosols down to one micron.
  • Electrostatic Air Cleaner – Removes particles at 70% efficiency.
  • UV Light – An ultraviolet air disinfection system is another weapon against bad air in our arsenal. This is an ultraviolet light you can attach inside your duct work that kills bacteria, viruses, mold, fungi, and other living microorganisms.

If you are interested in a whole-house humidifier, air cleaner, or duct cleaning, check out Home Comfort Experts’ online scheduling tool to make an appointment with a comfort advisor to discuss indoor air quality solutions for your home.