No matter the time of year, chance are you’ll notice when your indoor air quality isn’t the greatest. Allergy symptoms can occur from pollen, chemical contaminants, tobacco smoke, and other types of indoor air pollution. Outdoor air quality can also affect the quality of what you and your family are breathing indoors.

The good news is that there are several things you can do to improve your indoor air quality and breathe easier all year round.

1: Change Your Furnace Filters

By changing your furnace filters every 3 months, you can help keep the air in your home clean by capturing dust, pet hair, pollen, and more. You’ll also improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling system. The good news is that changing your furnace filters is generally an easy job, and filters are inexpensive.

2: Keep Humidity Down In The Summer

Your home’s humidity should be around 45 percent. Any higher, and discomfort can set in. In the summer, a good air conditioning system will dehumidify the air as well as cool your home.

3: Prevent Dryness In The Winter

Humidifiers can be purchased for a room or two, or you can have an HVAC professional install a whole house humidifier if dryness is an issue in the cooler months. Preventing dryness will help prevent dry sinus passages, dry skin, and other discomforts.

4: Keep Your Floors And Linens Clean

It stands to reason that vacuuming and washing your linens often can help to reduce the dust in your home and therefore, the dust that’s kicked up into the air. It may also help to remove your shoes when you enter your home, to avoid tracking in allergens.

5: Look for the Energy Star Label

When you’re upgrading a gas furnace, look for the Energy Star label. Some furnaces in the South come with this certification, as homes require less heat than in colder parts of the country. These furnaces are more efficient and reduce outdoor air pollution that can get into your home.

6: Avoid Smoking Indoors

By not having tobacco smoke in your home to begin with, you’ll go a long way towards improving your air quality and preventing chemical irritants from entering your home.

7: If You Can, Open Windows

Opening windows periodically will help fresh air circulate through your home and remove many allergens and odors associated with indoor air, such as dust and pet dander.

8: Have Your Ducts Cleaned

Dust can collect anywhere, including in your air ducts. Inspecting them will go a long way towards knowing if they need to be cleaned or not. By calling a professional to clean your ducts, you may eliminate a major source of allergens in your home, and your HVAC system will work more efficiently afterwards.

9: Try a Room Air Purifier

Air purifiers come in a variety of sizes. They can be purchased to remove allergens from a single room or even an entire small house. If you’re spending much of your time in one room of the house, a small purifier can work wonders.

10: Or Try a Whole House Air Purifier

These devices are ideal for larger homes and are installed by an HVAC professional right into your heating and cooling system. They work when your heat or air conditioning are running, and help to clean the air for the entire home.

At Southeastern Mechanical Services, we’re here to help ensure that you and your family breathe more easily during any time of the year. Contact us today to help improve the air quality of your home.