Tips & Tricks for Better Indoor Air
12/25/2018
HEPA means High-Efficiency Particulate Air. A HEPA filter works together with a robust fan to force air by way of a thick pleated mesh that traps pollen, pet dander, dust mites, and smoke. It could filter out nearly all toxic microorganisms including bacteria, mold spores and viruses. Hospitals are one of many largest users of HEPA air filters.
Sounds great, right? Let's run down to the store and buy one. Wait, not too fast. There are a handful of problems you'll encounter if you try to put a HEPA filter in your air handler or at the air return ducts. The first one is expense - ten dollars for a vacuum size filter, and over $200 for commercial air handlers. The next problem is that residential air handlers do not have fans with enough power to push air through HEPA type media.
But there is the right news - since the purpose of employing a fancy filter is to wash the air, you can find things you can do to boost the air quality inside. One is to use a HEPA filter in your hoover when it is a type that was created to use HEPA filtration. The other thing you certainly can do is obtain a standalone air cleaner, which I'll cover in the next article.
Without moving to a separate air cleaner, the following things will allow you to keep indoor air fresh and clean.
A well-maintained vacuum cleaner, with a HEPA filter, used many times per week on floors and carpets should go a extended way keeping in mind your property air clean. A non-HEPA vacuum with dirty filters, on another hand, will in truth add dirt and contaminants to the air by picking it up off the floor and re-distributing it to the air.
Changing your ac and heating filters on a schedule, and using high-efficiency air filters. The mid to high-efficiency air conditioning filters sold at the food store are excellent at trapping nasty particles.
Minimize the utilization of candles and wood fires in the event that you can. These increase the indoor pollutant load.
Limit usage of air fresheners and strong cleaning products.
Don't smoke indoors.
Use exhaust fans when you have them when you're cooking, but don't use them when you yourself have a wood fire moving in the fireplace. The fan can draw smoke into the living area from the fireplace.
You can even call an ac contractor ahead to your home and quote upgrading your air handler fan to 1 that may handle a HEPA installation. This is not a cheap upgrade, so you may want to try the methods above first, and then look at a standalone air purifier.
Opening windows on nice days will go quite a distance in cleaning your indoor air. With the Environmental Protection Agency claiming that indoor air is two to five times more polluted than outdoor air, letting the breeze sweep out pollutants will lower your task list.
Comments