Air quality can be a concern when you live in Los Angeles County and Orange County. The environment you live in directly affects the air quality within your home, and as Southern Californians, we are subjected to certain variables that threaten our air quality.
There’s no secret that in LA and surrounding areas there are a lot of cars. Automobile pollution has provided a good amount of smog to the air, but the geographical makeup of Southern California intensifies this because of two things we actually enjoy. Mountains along the LA basin actually trap air pollution, which is blown inland from ocean breezes and weather. With all the sunshine we receive, a warm layer of air sits on top of cooler air thus preventing it from dispersing. This is like cooking broccoli in a pot. All the moisture in the air is trapped under the warm layer as if there was a lid over the pot, and the trapped air is absorbed.
With all the smog, pollutants and dust swirling around under the sun, it’s important to monitor the air quality within your home. Here are the best ways to improve your home’s air quality to avoid future health issues or getting sick, so you can stay comfortable and live healthily:
Keep your HVAC System Clean
Changing the filters regularly on your air-conditioner and heater can guarantee you will have cleaner airflow throughout your home. Dirty filters with built-up dust and debris only offer breathing hardships by blowing dirty air throughout your home when your HVAC system is on.
Keeping filters clean on your HVAC system is important not just for your health but the benefit of your air-conditioner’s performance. Clean filters mean better air quality and better efficiency when it comes to controlling the temperature and air movement throughout your home. You should also consider using a special HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter on your vacuum to absorb allergens and other indoor pollutants.
Ventilation
Your air ducts directly link to the outside air in your neighborhood environment. Air ducts should always be cleaned regularly. If you ignore monitoring the ventilation on your home, a build-up of dirt, debris, dust, and even small insect settlements or animal hideouts within your ductwork could affect your air quality.
Cleaning your air ducts will help rid your home of toxic air. If you find yourself dealing with allergies, runny noses, or asthma flare-ups more than usual, recall how long it has been since your air ducts were cleaned and inspected. You may not have to deal with being sick as much if you have clean air flowing through your home. There are significant signs your air ducts may need service or cleaning and we can help you breathe easy.
You can also open your windows when possible. It’s completely impossible to keep all combative air out of our homes because of the natural makeup of our environment. However, opening your windows does allow fresh air on good days to come in and replenish any musty or dusty air that’s been lingering inside. Again this depends on your neighborhood’s surrounding environment.
Humidity Levels
Believe it or not, keeping the air humidity in your home under control can affect the quality of the air you breath. Using either a dehumidifier or air-purifier can help control your humidity levels, which should be 30-50%. If you notice your body’s skin becoming easily irritated or your eyes, nose, and throat having irritation, this could be a sign that there is too much moisture in your air. Muggy air can also be the culprit for affecting what happens within the drywall of your home.
Moisture can help enhance the growth of molds with your walls that can cause you to have allergic reactions, big and small. Mildew grows on surfaces and inside walls where it gives off spores that people can inhale. If you are asthmatic or your children have asthma, you will want to monitor this especially. You can lower the risk of asthma attacks, and avoid getting sick with sinus infections or becoming subject to any other health issues that could arise from being exposed to mold. This happens a lot in homes with basements, and luckily in Los Angeles County and Orange County, basements are almost non-existent.
Cleaning with Caution
Using certain chemicals can actually be harmful to the air you breathe inside your home. Sure you may get that fresh lemon smell in the air, or experience that commercial taste of soap as your countertops and floors glisten, but be careful of the kind of cleaners you use. Ammonia-based cleaners and aerosols can emit VOCs (volatile organic compounds), which have significant adverse health effects when exposed to the lungs. Fragranced products can be bad news if you are using them too much or too often. Sure everything might seem fresh and clean, but you a lot of these products are using petroleum. That doesn’t sound good, does it? Thankfully Accurate can help combat and eradicate pollutants with whole-house air cleaners and cleaning solutions that won’t harm you.
Tests
Getting to the root of the problem and identifying the real facts can be eye-opening and informative. One way to ensure air quality improvement in your home is to have a carbon monoxide and radon test. Radon is a radioactive gas that forms from the natural decay of uranium in soils within the ground. Radon can enter your home if there are cracks within your property’s foundation. The problem with radon is that it is a colorless, odorless gas and it can cause lung cancer. While Los Angeles County and Orange County don’t have some of the problems that come with basements in dealing with mold, they do have to worry about radon because it can easily make its way in if your home does not have a basement.
Testing your air is relatively inexpensive and can give you a piece of mind. If your home does test for radon or carbon monoxide, there are relatively cheap ways to reduce it to less harmful levels. An air quality test may also reveal you don’t have to worry about radioactive gas and instead just work on your dirt and dust problem. You can develop a plan to improve your air quality based on the unique layout of your home.
Modern Technology
There are other strategies that can be categorized for improving air quality. You can bring in plants to try and absorb pollutants, get rid of old furniture and items that might be collecting dust or use special mattresses and pillows to fight off exposure to any other harmful mites or pollutants lingering in your home’s air.
Yet why not use modern technology to resist nasty air. One item that you can familiarize yourself with is QuietCool Fans. This is a system that Accurate stands behind which has proven to improve air quality while removing odors, pet dander and refreshing your home’s air more than 20 times an hour. Not only does this fan system improve your air quality but it will save you overall money on your air-conditioning costs. Here’s more if you are interested.
Air quality is extremely important when living in areas that have high potency in polluted air and pose health risks. Los Angeles County and Orange County are definitely beautiful places to live, but even beauty can have its own risks. Luckily these risks are easily manageable. Accurate can help you with improving your overall air quality and you have a ton of options in how you can take action. Stay healthy and breath easy!
