Take These 5 Steps for Ideal Air Quality in Fairfax, VA
With summer approaching in Fairfax, VA, you can only achieve a cost-conscious way of using your AC when you’re sure it properly works. An HVAC system that overburdens itself to perform will reduce the quality of the air you breathe. With the help of an experienced technician by your side, here are five simple ways to improve your indoor air quality.
1. Take a Look at Your Air Filters
One of the first components that air encounters when first entering your HVAC is air filters. It’s easy to overlook the particles and dust collected by your filters since they’re microscopic and out of immediate sight. However, every minute that your filters collect air-borne waste, they’ll eventually lose their ability to aid in air quality.
We need to first determine the condition of your filters. Cleaning them is possible and might be all you need. More severe cases call for us to install new filters while deciding on upgrades you should consider later on. Today, you have the choice of disposal or reusable filters that maintain your air quality.
2. Check for Leaks in Your Ductwork
Fresh air in the summer is pivotal, but you could reduce your access to fresh air due to leaks in your ductwork. HVAC ducts create a network of air channels that contain the air your system has prepared for heating or cooling. Any leaks that don’t get repaired will, instead, cause fresh air to exit your system, leaving you with stale air.
We seal ductwork when we install it. The air your HVAC system receives comes pressurized in order to keep it in a constant flow. Keeping your ducts enclosed enables air to flow in or out of your building without resistance.
3. Clear Your Vents and Registers
We install the openings within your ducts as either vents or registers. Your vents are what bring cool, filtered air into your building spaces. As you use that air, it heats back up where registers then collect it in order to refilter and cool it.
Anything obstructing your vents and registers will cause airflow problems and thus air quality issues. Particles of dust can collect at your vents and keep air backed up within your system. When that type of obstruction is, instead, found at your registers, you’ll find it difficult to keep HVAC settings consistent within your building.
4. Inspect Your Air Handlers or Ventilators
Air handlers and ventilators are HVAC units that, through positive pressure, keep fresh air available throughout your building. A handler is an advanced fan, and this device is often at the entrance of your system. Problems with this unit will leave you with no air, even if you turn your HVAC system on.
Being a separate unit within your HVAC, ventilators improve your air quality by replacing, which is to say exchanging, your indoor air directly for fresh air. Ventilators take toxins and dust directly out of the air. A building can become stale, humid, and hypoxic without a working ventilator.
5. Utilize Your Indoor Fans
For some building owners, circulating the fresh air that their HVAC systems have already filtered calls for a simple fan. Ceiling fans help your HVAC system by reducing the amount of power it needs to generate when keeping your spaces cool. Since fans circulate air, your handler, ventilators, and registers work less to achieve your ideal settings.
Start with an Ideal Maintenance Plan
Keeping fresh air circulating throughout your building is a sure way to find indoor comfort during the summers in Fairfax, VA. Contact us at Indoor Air Quality Medics today for expert air maintenance services and a full list of ways to improve your air quality. We can help you prepare for the hotter days ahead.
Our NATE-certified technicians receive ongoing training and certifications from system manufacturers. We’re BBB accredited in addition to being EPA and CFC licensed. We offer high-quality service, customer responsiveness, great communication, and transparency. Our employees are all background-checked for your peace of mind.
Image provided by iStock
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