We at Aztil Air Conditioning, the top Palm Beach air conditioning company serving southern Florida, do our very best to ensure that your central air conditioning system is working to its optimal level and that your air filters are clean. That is because we understand how important indoor air quality is to the comfort of your home.
In Florida, particularly in the summer months, we often keep our homes closed to the elements, and rely solely on the indoor air that is filtered through the central air system. Unfortunately, that can pose a challenge if we do not take steps to keep the indoor air clean.
In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has begun to discover that in many homes and office buildings the concentration of harmful pollutants is higher indoors than outdoors. Accordingly, we should all take a few steps to make sure that the air quality inside our homes is as clean and pollutant-free as possible.
That, of course, means that we should regularly change the air filter in our central air system. But we can do more. This blog will discuss 6 easy tips that will keep the indoor air as pollutant-free as possible. In addition, you will want to be sure that you periodically check your air conditioning system so that you can rely on it even on the hottest days of the year.
At Aztil Air Conditioning, we are the Palm Beach air conditioning company that has your overall health and wellness in mind. After employing the tips in this blog, consider giving us a call so we can do a system checkup. Learn more today by calling us at 888-729-8452 or filling out our online contact form.
6 Great Ways to Keep Your Indoor Air Clear
#1 – “No Shoes” Policy
We all know those people who don’t allow visitors to come into their homes with shoes on. In fact, we are the ones who worry about having holes in our socks when you attend parties at their house.
Yes, the “take off your shoes at the door” people can present a challenge to our patience sometimes, but you might want to consider becoming one of them.
Why? Shoes carry a great deal of bacteria into your home, and bacteria into your home could mean infections. Without question, carpets and doormats do a fairly good job reducing the amount of dirt and other air pollutants from coming into the home, a “no shoes” policy takes it one step further.
So, the “no shoes” policy is much less about keeping dirt off of the new white carpet that was just installed, and more about keeping the air indoors as clean as possible.
#2 – Freeze Out the Dust Mites
Ok, this next statistic is not for the faint of heart, but it has been estimated that after two years, about one-third of the weight of your pillow is dead skin, dust mites (that eat dead skin), and dust mite droppings. In fact, about 10% of people, and 80% of those suffering from allergies, have an allergic reaction to dust mites.
That pillow statistic above is, admittedly, pretty gross, but it does put a fine point on the need to minimize dust mites as much as possible. How do you do that? You get rid of them using a waterproof laundry bag and your freezer.
Any stuffed toys and pillows that you use daily should be placed in the waterproof laundry bag. Then put that bag in the freezer. Leave them in there for a few hours.
As it turns out, low temperatures kill dust mites. Therefore, after a few hours, you can take out your bags of stuffed animals and pillows, and they will be dust mite free. Also, you could wash your pillows. That will also get rid of those pesky dust mites, and contribute to cleaner indoor air.
#3 – Clean Off Ceiling and Floor Fans
Fans, as you are likely aware, collect a lot of dust. Just look at a fan that you have had for a few years, and you will have a good example of the kind of particles that hang out in your air.
Rather than have those fans continuously circulate the dust that collects on the blades, clean off those blades. Dusty fans circulate dust. Clean blades, however, will circulate cleaner air.
#4 – Attention to Pet Grooming
Pets are a joy. They bring life, energy, and adorable cuteness into your home. In addition, they bring lots of fur, dander, and other things that can clog your air conditioning system’s filter relatively quickly.
In addition to regularly changing your air system’s filter, you should consider grooming your pet more frequently. By decreasing the amount of fur a pet can shed, you are also indirectly decreasing the amount of pet hair and dander that might go through the blower of your air conditioning system.
#5 – Eco-Friendly Paint
Yes, you read that correctly. Paint can actually vaporize and emit gasses, even long after it dries. Paint contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and only emits about half of its VOCs in the first year of application. The VOCs in paint can actually cause headaches and dizziness.
Fortunately, there is a such thing as low-VOC paint. To be a low-VOC paint, the EPA requires that flat or latex paint have no more than 250 grams per liter of VOCs, and requires oil-based paint to have no more than 380 grams per liter. To be VOC-free, the EPA requires paint to have no more than 5 grams per liter of VOCs.
#6 – Formaldehyde-Free Furniture
Many pieces of home furniture have adhesives that contain formaldehyde. In fact, formaldehyde can be found in furniture, walls, carpeting, flooring, and decorations.
A good way to tell if your furniture contains formaldehyde is to see whether your furniture is something other than natural wood. If it is plywood, fiberboard, chipboard, or particle board (like many of the put-together-at-home pieces of furniture), then it is likely that they rely on glue to hold them together, which can be high in formaldehyde.
Thus, with your next furniture purchase, look for items made from natural wood.
We hope this is a helpful list. And, if you are looking for a high-quality Palm Beach air conditioning company, consider calling Aztil Air Conditioning. We can be reached at 888-729-8452, or you can fill out our online contact form.
