Keeping Your Indoor Air Clean and Properly Humidified

Your Lawrenceville, GA, home’s indoor air quality requires more than just keeping the thermostat at a comfortable temperature. To keep you and your family healthy, you’ll also need to clean the air of allergens while maintaining proper humidification.

Air Filters and Cleaners

The first line of defense against dust is your HVAC system’s air filter. Made of a porous material, the air filter is designed to trap dust while allowing air to pass through, but over time, the dust will accumulate and reduce airflow. As such, we recommend replacing the air filter cartridge every six months during normal operation. Immediately replace the air filter after a house renovation or another event that generates a substantial amount of dust. For the best performance from your air filter, be sure to use a filter with a MERV-rating recommended for your system.

We also offer a number of more robust air cleaners such as the Aprilaire® Model 5000 Whole House Air Cleaner, which charges dust and other particles before trapping them against ionizing wires. Ionizing cleaners such as the Model 5000 can remove up to 99 percent of all large particles from the air, but even more impressive is the ionizing cleaner’s ability to trap substantial amounts of smaller particles such as tobacco smoke, viruses, and bacteria.

Humidifiers

Clean air is only half of the indoor air quality formula. Equally important, not only to your comfort but also your health, is relative humidity. During the humid Georgia summers, your air conditioner lowers the relative humidity by condensing water in the air handler. Winters are a different story with the relative humidity often dropping below 40 percent, and unfortunately, dry air can actually make you more prone to upper respiratory infections.

A comfortable relative humidity for most people is somewhere between 45 and 55 percent, so most people will need to actually add moisture to the air between November and March. Passive whole house humidifiers work when the air handler is on by evaporating water at room temperature, but if you’re looking for a more efficient unit, a steam humidifier will work even when your air handler isn’t running.

Looking for more tips and products for indoor air quality and humidification? Visit Zack Hammonds, or give us a call at (770) 661-0334.