How Building Materials Impact Air Quality: An Overlooked HVAC Factor
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning – HVAC for short – are essential to any home’s air quality and overall comfort. Without a working HVAC system, you risk being too hot, too cold, or experiencing high humidity levels that allow mold and mildew to grow. Stale air that builds up when windows are shut also increases the potential for allergies and asthma.
Proper care of your HVAC system is important to your home’s climate. Did you know that building materials also play a part in air quality? Take a look at Air Blue’s guide to the materials that can positively or negatively impact things like radon, mold, and VOCs.
VOCs Are a Main Concern With Air Quality
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are one of the biggest contributors to the release of harmful chemicals in your home. They’re found in everything from paint and stain to plywood and pressed-wood furniture. New carpeting and flooring often have VOCs. Household cleaning products, disinfectants, and glues also have them. One of the best-known VOCs is formaldehyde. VOCs also include items like benzene and toluene.
Why are VOCs a problem? They’re an irritant and some have carcinogenic properties. That increases the risk of getting certain types of cancer.
Benzene – Increases risk of developing leukemia
Chloroform – Increases the risk of developing bladder, intestinal, kidney, and liver cancers.
Formaldehyde – Increases the risk of lung, nose, and throat cancers.
Naphthalene – Increases the risk of throat cancer.
Trichloroethylene – Increases the risk of blood, kidney, and liver cancers.
VOCs irritate the eyes, nose, sinuses, and throat. They can trigger dizziness, headaches, and nosebleeds with chronic exposure. With continuous exposure, it can make it harder to breathe and damage the central nervous system.
VOCs Are Not Your Only Concern
While VOCs are concerning, they’re not the only concern. Air quality is impacted by several gases that occur in the home.
Carbon Monoxide:
Carbon monoxide is a deadly gas that has no odor and is invisible. It’s a risk if you have gas-powered HVAC equipment, fireplaces, wood stoves, or appliances that are not cleaned and checked regularly to ensure they’re vented properly and leaking carbon monoxide into your home.
You need a carbon monoxide detector in every bedroom and main living area, and you should have your HVAC system and other appliances and heating sources cleaned and inspected each year.
Mold:
Mold is present anywhere there is excess humidity. Too much mold impacts your home as it builds up on walls, ceilings, and porous surfaces. It can also build up in ducts and get distributed to all areas of your home. Allergic reactions are one sign of increased mold exposure. Fatigue, headaches, and respiratory complaints are also risks. Managing humidity levels within your home is important, and your HVAC system is a good way to ensure humidity levels are adequate without being excessive.
You also need to ensure there is no build-up of mold or other contaminants in your ducts. If there is, it’s time to hire a company to do a professional cleaning of your ducts. With that cleaning, you should have them inspected for holes and cracks. Ask about UV light installations. Germicidal UV lamps damage microorganisms, which helps prevent bacteria, fungi, mold, and viruses from growing. You don’t want these microorganisms spreading spores and germs into the air you breathe.
Radon:
Radon is a radioactive gas that occurs naturally in bedrock below the ground. It can come into your home through cracks or holes in the foundation or basement. Tests have found that radon can come from granite counters and flooring, though exposure rates are incredibly low. But, it is recommended that you invest in a radon monitor. Consider having a radon abatement system installed if the results are elevated.
Things You Should Do to Maintain Healthy Air
When you choose building materials that are natural and not treated with chemical preservatives, you go a long way to lowering the potential VOC levels in your home. Look for terms like “Green Seal,” “no-VOC,” and “eco-friendly.”
Eco-friendly carpeting like durable wool can be expensive but much safer. Jute and seagrass carpeting is another option. Bamboo flooring is eco-friendly and often has low VOC counts. Just make sure it’s not sealed or stained in anything like polyurethane.
Ready-to-assemble furniture that you build at home is handy, but it usually contains pressed wood. Pressed wood is high in VOCs. When you’re looking for items like shelving, built-ins, and closet organizers, look at low-VOC options or aim for custom-built materials made from untreated woods like cedar or pine.
Because air quality relies on filtration within an HVAC system, make sure you change your filter regularly. While some people can get away with filter changes every six months, it’s better to check it monthly. Look for signs of dirt and dust. If it’s hard to see light through the filter, it’s dirty and needs changing.
When you vacuum your home, use a vacuum with a HEPA filter. If you want, air purifiers in bedrooms that also use HEPA filtration are a good way to avoid dust, pet dander, and dust mites. Again, you need to check the filter often. If your system has a permanent filter, make sure you rinse or vacuum it regularly to clear the dust build-up.
Make sure you have your air conditioner and heating system cleaned and inspected every year. A professional cleaning and inspection ensures your system is venting carbon monoxide to the outside. You have peace of mind that the system is working correctly. Plus, if there are noticeable deficiencies, you’ll know about them sooner rather than later.
If you need a new HVAC system, make sure ducts are inspected first. Work with a professional installer who has energy-efficient air conditioners and heating systems. That installer takes careful measurements and calculates the measurements for a system that heats and cools your home in the most efficient way possible. With an Energy Star system, you qualify for energy tax credits, too.
Schedule an appointment for Indoor Air Analysis with Air Blue Heating and Cooling. We place a monitor in your home for three days to measure the air quality throughout the day and night. Once completed, you’re shown the results of the levels of pollutants throughout the day and night. We hope this test finds nothing alarming, but if it does, we’ll go over the best solutions to improve your home’s air quality.
