Indoor air quality plays a significant role in your family’s overall health and comfort, yet it’s something many people overlook. Poor air quality can give your family a variety of health issues, from allergies and breathing difficulty to headaches and fatigue. The air inside your home can be more polluted than the air outside. At DNA Heating & Air in Columbus, GA, we understand how important clean air is for your family, and we’re here to guide you in creating a healthier living environment with improved indoor air quality.
Hidden Dangers of Poor Indoor Air Quality
When it comes to your home, air quality might not be the first thing you think about, but it should be. Poor indoor air quality can harm your family’s health in several ways, from causing allergies to more serious respiratory issues. In the short term, poor air quality can trigger allergy symptoms like sneezing, itchy eyes, and a runny nose. If your home has high levels of dust or pet dander, those who are sensitive to these allergens may start to notice these symptoms more often.
But the effects can go beyond that. People who have asthma can experience flare-ups when exposed to poor indoor air. Poor air quality can also aggravate other conditions like sinusitis or bronchitis, making it harder for people to breathe. Even for people who don’t have pre-existing conditions, exposure to pollutants like VOCs and chemicals can cause headaches, fatigue, and dizziness. Over the long term, the effects can be even more severe. Prolonged exposure to poor air quality can raise the risk of developing respiratory illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Common Indoor Pollutants You Might Not Know About
Your home may contain a lot of things that are affecting the air quality, even if you don’t see them. Many common household items, like furniture, carpeting, and even cleaning products, can release harmful chemicals into the air. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are one example of these chemicals, which can be found in paints, varnishes, and certain cleaning supplies. VOCs can cause headaches, dizziness, and even long-term damage if the exposure is constant.
There are the more familiar culprits: dust, pollen, and pet dander. These particles often circulate in your home, causing problems for people who suffer from allergies or asthma. If you have pets, you’re probably familiar with the extra cleaning needed to stay ahead of their shedding, but it’s not just visible fur that can be a problem. Pet dander, which is made up of tiny skin flakes, can get into the air which causes throat and eye irritation.
Mold and mildew are also common issues, particularly in areas with high humidity, like bathrooms or basements. These fungi thrive in damp conditions. When mold spores become airborne, they can irritate your respiratory system and make it hard to breathe, especially for those with weakened immune systems.
How Air Flow and Air Purifiers Can Help
One reason for poor indoor air quality is not having enough ventilation. Without proper airflow, the pollutants get trapped, making it harder for your home to stay fresh. Poor HVAC maintenance habits also contribute, as a dirty system will push that contamination into rooms of your home. The same goes for your HVAC ducts, which should get professional duct cleaning every so often to remove dust, dirt, mildew, and other pollutants so they don’t end up in your house. Sometimes, even with those measures, your home may still need a little extra help to keep the air clean. This is where air purifiers come in. Air purifiers clean the air by removing things like dust, pet dander, and even viruses. They pull in the air, filter out the bad stuff, and then blow clean air back into the room.
Air purifiers can be particularly useful for homes where pets live or where people in the family have allergies. There are several types of air purifiers to choose from, depending on the size of your home and the specific pollutants you want to target. Some air purifiers are equipped with HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters, which can trap tiny particles as small as 0.3 microns—such as pollen, dust mites, and mold spores. This makes them especially effective at improving indoor air quality.
Activated carbon screens are used in other types of air cleaners to remove chemicals and odors from the air. These are a good choice if you’re concerned about VOCs or smoke in your home. When combined with proper ventilation, air purifiers can be a great addition to your efforts to better the air quality inside and make it a healthier living environment.
Call Us Today
The quality of the air inside your home directly affects your family’s health, so it’s worth taking steps to improve it. If you’re unsure how to tackle indoor air quality issues, reach out to DNA Heating & Air for help and information that is specific to your home. We also offer cooling, heating, duct cleaning, and custom residential and commercial solutions for our customers.
