The seasons can significantly impact your home’s air quality. From humidity and temperature changes to differences in your household routines, your indoor air quality can affect your family’s health. Below, we discuss the most common impacts, so you’ll gain a better understanding of what to expect throughout the coming year.
Springtime Pollen
One of the most notable ways seasons impact your indoor air quality is during the springtime, when there is an increase in outdoor pollen. Many allergy sufferers will notice flare-ups during the spring season due to the introduction of pollen into the air from trees and flowers.
Spring also brings with it a lot of dampness and rain, which can contribute to an increase in mold spores floating in the air. These mold spores can further trigger your allergy symptoms and lead to problems like itchy eyes and respiratory irritation. Keeping your windows closed and using indoor air quality products, like high-efficiency HVAC filters and air purification systems, can minimize the impact that spring has on your seasonal allergy symptoms.
Summertime Humidity
As we transition from spring to summer, one of the biggest air quality issues is excessive humidity. Kentucky’s humidity level can get very high throughout the summer. Anytime that you open your doors or windows, you’re essentially allowing that humid air inside. While your air conditioning system is designed to remove humidity from the air, it’s not specifically designed to remove a large amount of it.
When humidity levels are high in your home, it can create a few different problems. The most notable is that you will feel more uncomfortable. When humidity levels are high, your body’s sweat doesn’t evaporate as quickly. This hindrance makes it harder for your body to naturally cool itself down, leaving you feeling overly hot and stuffy. High indoor humidity is one of the biggest contributors to unwanted mold and mildew growth.
Mold spores can be highly toxic to your respiratory system. They also produce an unpleasant musty odor that can be hard to remove from your home. Summertime also leads to more outdoor air pollutants in the form of wildfire smoke and increased pesticides from crop growing. Some of the best ways to deal with summertime air quality issues include using a whole-home dehumidification system, routinely changing your HVAC filters, and using a whole-home air purification system.
Fall Mold and Dust
Fall comes along with its own set of indoor air quality issues. Mold spores will be prominent in the air due to a lot of decaying vegetation and leaves in the area. Many homeowners are starting to seal up their homes to prepare for the colder winter weather ahead. This allows more dust to build up indoors without any natural ventilation, which can further reduce indoor air quality. Routine duct cleaning, changing HVAC filters, and using a whole-home air purification system can help during the fall season to improve your indoor air quality.
Winter Dryness
When the winter season settles in, it can bring along its own air quality issues. Dry air is a natural occurrence of winter weather, and this can be exacerbated by running a heating system in your home. When your indoor air has a very low humidity level, it can cause any wooden components in your home to shrink. These include things like your window trims, doors, furniture, and even flooring.
Furthermore, low humidity can dry out the body, leading to issues like irritated sinuses and dry skin. Without adequate humidity in the air, all the heat that your heating system produces won’t linger very long in the air. This will make your home feel cooler and cause your heating system to run more often to keep you feeling comfortable. Even worse, when your nasal passages dry out due to dry air, it makes you more susceptible to illness.
Because your home is more sealed off during the winter months, it allows many indoor air pollutants to continually back up without any natural ventilation to reduce their concentration. Contaminants like pet dander, cooking fumes, and VOCs from cleaning products can all increase.
Some of the best ways to deal with these air quality issues during the wintertime include investing in a whole-home dehumidification system, using an air purification device, and always using proper ventilation in your bathrooms and kitchens.
Addressing Indoor Air Quality Issues
Now that you understand how the different seasons can impact your home’s air quality, it’s important to be proactive to prevent these problems before they crop up. This becomes especially important for homeowners who suffer from seasonal allergies, asthma, or even a respiratory condition. Below, we’ll suggest some of the best items you can use to enhance your air quality throughout the year.
HVAC Air Filter
One of your basic lines of defense to help increase indoor air quality is an HVAC air filter. Your air conditioning and heating systems operate throughout much of the year to circulate air, so a clean air filter is important to allow that air to flow freely through the system. All HVAC air filters have a rating on the MERV scale, with a higher rating translating to better filtering capabilities.
You may want to consider purchasing a filter with a higher rating during the spring and winter seasons to reduce allergy flare-ups. We suggest a filter with a rating between 10 and 13. Anything higher is typically reserved for industrial HVAC units that are more powerful. Trying to run them in a residential HVAC system will lead to excessive wear and tear on your system.
Whole-Home Air Purifier
Another great investment is a whole-home air purification system. There are a few different types of these systems that you can purchase, with UV lighting being one of the most common components used in them. UV germicidal lighting is great for disrupting the DNA of unwanted airborne toxins to render them unable to reproduce and cause them to eventually die off.
Whole-Home Humidifiers and Dehumidifiers
Two other notable investments that can make a difference regarding your indoor air quality and comfort level are whole-home dehumidifiers and humidifiers. A whole-home humidifier can be great for adding excess moisture to dry winter air to prevent sinus irritation and reduce your risk of spreading illness in your home.
Whole-home dehumidifiers are used in the summertime to remove excess humidity from inside your home. This will not only increase your comfort level but also reduce the presence of toxic mold and mildew growth. Using a combination of all these indoor air quality products can be an ideal way to boost your air quality throughout the entire year.
Reliable Indoor Air Quality Service
Bryant Heating, Cooling, Plumbing & Electric offers reliable indoor air quality services for the Louisville, KY area. Our knowledgeable HVAC technicians can also help with all your ductwork, whole-house fan, air purifier, air quality testing, whole-home dehumidifier, and whole-home humidifier needs. Call our office today to book a service consultation with one of our friendly technicians.
