QUESTIONS ABOUT INDOOR AIR QUALITY?
KNOW THE FACTS SO YOU CAN BREATHE EASY!
It can be overwhelming trying to wade through all the options when it comes to your in-home air quality and comfort. Let’s go through a quick overview of the most important details so you can get a grasp on the best fit for your current situation.
THE DEAL ON DUCT CLEANING
Duct cleaning is a critical step in keeping peak air quality in your home. During a duct cleaning, a technician will seal all of your vents and grills and vacuum all of the trapped dust, dirt, hair and allergens that may be hiding in your home’s duct system. At your request while your system is sealed we can also use a disinfectant fog to remove any potentially trapped germs or bacteria. Duct cleaning doesn’t need to be performed annually or even every other year like some companies may tell you. It should be done every 3-6 years depending on things like how many pets you have, if you have issues with allergies from dust or indoor pet dander and if you’ve recently done home construction.
We highly suggest people consider adding dryer vent cleanings when they have their ductwork cleaned. House fires caused by blockages in your dryer vent are more common than most people think and can be easily avoided by being regularly cleaned. Always remember to clean the lint trap after every load too! It really does matter.
duct balancing
Do you have rooms in your house that are hot, when others are cold?
There are many contributing factors to imbalances in temperature and some are easier to fix than others- like making sure you place wireless thermostat nodes in appropriate places, and thermostats out of directly sunlit spaces.
One of these ways is to ensure your duct work is properly balanced. Much like a tree, the duct system in your home branches out in many different directions. Most duct work comes with internal dampers that can be adjusted to change the amount of air directed in to these different areas of the system. If the dampers are not in the correct position it could be causing temperature imbalances in your home.
If your ducts are properly balanced but you are still experiencing large viarations in room temparatures, you may be experiencing duckwork leakage which cannot be corrected with Air balancing. Instead you should consider Duct Sealing.
duct sealing by aeroseal
In houses with forced air heating and cooling systems, ducts are used to distribute conditioned air throughout the house. But in typical houses, about 25-40% of the air that moves through the duct system is lost due to leaks, holes and poorly connected ducts. The result is higher utility bills and difficulty keeping the house comfortable no matter how the thermostat is set.
Duct sealing is a process where we seal all off your duct system and then test it for leaks using a special computer system. We then provide you with a report showing you the level of heat loss in your home. In many cases people are losing a significant amount of heat due to improper system sealing. Because many people’s duct work is hidden in ceilings or walls, it is hard to fix the leaks once they are found- but the Aeroseal Duct Sealing system solves that problem! Once we have determined a need for sealing and your system is still hooked up, we then spray a material that seals all the holes, leaks and cracks. We’ll give you a completion report to show you the difference in loss before and after the seal.
This is a product we are excited to offer and truly stand behind. We’ve seen the difference it can make to the comfort level of your home and are always happy to answer any questions you may have.
FILTERS, air cleaners, humidifiers & MORE
One of the most frequent causes of service calls are appliance issues caused by running the appliance with a dirty filter.
Filters should be changed annually- if you have pets, burn candles, have a wood burning fireplace or smoke in your home you may need to change it even more often than that.
Our rule of thumb is- check regularly, change annually.
When it comes to your home and adding additional layers of cleaning and protection for your air quality, thats where products like ERV’s, HRV’s, Humidifiers, Air Cleaners, Hepa Filters and UV Filters come in.
Humidifiers can help add air to homes that struggle to keep an adequate moisture balance.
Media Type Air Cleaners help filter 99.9% of all larger airborne particles but are not designed to control VOC’s or airborne bacteria.
UV Light Cleaners/Filters are used to kill airborne bacteria and viruses.
HEPA Filters/Cleaners are designed to filter smaller microbial dust, smoke, and other allergens with a higher filtration rate than a regular media type Air Cleaner. They are 99.97% effective at trapping .3 micron particles.
An HRV and an ERV are very similar devices. They both bring fresh air from outside and exhaust non-fresh air from the home to the outside.
The main difference between an HRV and an ERV is that when the air passes through the unit, only Heat is transferred in an HRV between the exhaust air from the home and the fresh air from the outside. In an ERV, Heat AND Moisture are transferred. HRV’s are commonly used in homes where the primary concern is high humidity in the winter. ERV’s are typically recommended where moderating between humidity level extremes is a year-round concern.
