Is Your Air Conditioning or Heating System Making You Sick?

Toxic indoor air can be costly and should be attacked head on with a proactive approach. Read these important steps to understanding how home air conditioning and your furnace can cause toxic air.

Indoor air quality is important year-round but especially during the winter when we’re forced to spend most of our time indoors to get away from the brutal cold spells. The quality of air in the home is bad enough with the filth of hair, pet dander, dust mites, and germs before you add a possible gas leak from a furnace or a faulty central AC into the mix. Either way toxic indoor air can be costly and should be attacked head on with a proactive approach. These are important steps to understanding home air conditioning as well because pure air is a necessity.

Related: Air Conditioner Problems

Particle Counters

A particle counter will take a sample of the air and give a reading of the purity of the air. The results can be tracked for up to 30 days to find out just how many instances of dander and dust mites are in the air and if the methods you are taking to reduce it is actually working. A home air conditioning or furnace cycles these allergens all throughout the day so limiting them is important.

Gas Detectors

Not only is it important to monitor allergens in the air, but the presence of gas for obvious reasons. A faulty furnace or oven can lead to carbon monoxide or natural gas leaking into the home that can be deadly. A standard monitor costs only about $40 and simply plugs into a wall outlet. The unit gives a digital readout of the methane or carbon monoxide concentration and sends out a shrieking alarm when it detects a threat.

Temperature and Humidity Sensors

Temperature and humidity sensors are a nice item for homeowners that want to know that extra level of detail about the air in their home. A second temperature reading can come in handy if a thermostat is malfunctioning that in turn could be resulting in higher utility bills. Knowing humidity levels inside the home is also important in both hot and cold weather. Low humidity in the winter causes dry skin and throat while also damaging woodwork. Too much humidity from a home air conditioning leads to condensation that in turn enables mold and mildew to form causing breathing problems.

Mold Test Kits

A large mold growth on a sheet of drywall in the basement is easy to detect, but this toxin doesn’t always work that visibly. Mold kits allow you to collect a sample and test it for 30+ different types of mold and allergens. Many even include options to send the sample to a lab for professional scanning.

Indoor Air Quality Audit

While many of the marketed home air quality testers are very reliable, there’s no substitute to the atmosphere audit by a professional home air conditioning company. Specialty testing equipment can be used to inspect furnaces, duct work, basements, attics, and other potential problem areas to give the home or apartment a clean bill of health. Many clients opt for a seasonal audit in the fall time when the family spends more time outside.

Living with poor indoor air quality can lead to serious health problems down the line and is outright dangerous. Thus, make sure the home air conditioning and heating are cycling a breathable and a livable air.