Good Indoor Air Quality Keeps You Happy & Healthy in Warmer Months

So long, winter! Hello, spring! Temperatures are steadily on the rise, reminding us that summer is on the way. The sun is shining, flowers are blooming, and tissue boxes are about to start flying off of store shelves.

It’s an unfortunate truth: The spring is peak allergy season. If you’re someone who suffers from seasonal allergies, you already know that even a short walk in the afternoon can expose you to enough pollen to leave you sneezing uncontrollably. But what you may not know is that you could be inviting airborne particles like pollen and other nasty pollutants into your living space without even realizing it.

Read on for a few lessons on why maintaining good indoor air quality following an air quality inspection is so important and how you can make sure you and your family are breathing easy in your home.

What Exactly Is Indoor Air Quality?

As you probably know, your home is outfitted with a ventilation system that is designed to cycle good, clean air into your home and bad, polluted air out. Your air’s cleanliness is measured by indoor air quality (IAQ). Considering that the average American spends 93% of his or her life indoors, air quality is an aspect that simply cannot be ignored.

There are a variety of sources that a functional ventilation system protects you from, including:

• Outdoor contaminants that sneak inside
• Mold
• Tobacco smoke
• Pesticides
• Household cleaning products
• Paint or building materials

Just like your heating and cooling equipment, your ventilation system needs proper maintenance to continue to operate as intended and filter those air contaminants out of your home. When your ventilation system is not working properly, you and your family are at risk of breathing in poor quality air, which can lead to negative health effects. Symptoms of poor IAQ include:

• Sneezing
• Coughing
• Sore throat
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• And more

Spring Weather Brings Higher Humidity

Although IAQ is important all year long, it is especially important during the spring when we like to open our windows and welcome the warm breezes inside. Keep in mind, though, that pollen, mold and other allergens are creeping inside, too.

By inspecting your ventilation system and exploring IAQ solutions early in the season, you’ll reduce your exposure to these outdoor allergens inside your home. While we’re at it, the experts at Cornerstone Pros can help prepare you for the air quality challenges that next winter’s dry air will bring, such as upper respiratory infections.

What Can You Do to Breathe Easier?

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can address your home’s air quality! For starters, you’ll want to have your indoor air quality tested. Cornerstone’s techs are trained to do exactly this and then set you in the right direction for air quality improvements.

Other steps you can take include:

• Install IAQ equipment in your home. There are many options available to help filter the air in your home more effectively. After your home air inspection, your Cornerstone technician can suggest options that would work best for your home, such as a UV light system, an air purifier or an air scrubber.
• Consider a housekeeping service. Whether or not you like to clean your house, it’s important for living a healthy lifestyle. Sometimes you may think you’re getting enough done, but dirt and dust buildup in your vents can be hard to manage on your own. Hiring a professional cleaning service, at least once every now and then, can help eliminate sneaky contaminants you may be missing on your own.
• Schedule home renovations when fewer people are home. Construction can produce contaminants in several ways—from dirt and dust that’s kicked up while using tools to contaminants from materials such as paint, glue and cement. Anyone performing work in your home should ventilate and clean up as much as possible during and, of course, after the process.
• Consider non-chemical pest control. Spring is when you’ll start to notice more creepy-crawlies that have found their way into your home. Using pesticides may be an easy way to remove them, but can cause harm through residue that’s left in the air and on home surfaces. Instead, try sealing any entry points you notice and maintaining a clean kitchen free of food particles that can attract pests.

Trust in Cornerstone, Your Indoor Air Quality Experts!

When it comes down to it, having a trusted professional visit your home to inspect your IAQ is a great way to get a good, close look at just how clean your home’s air is. There are so many steps you can take to improve your IAQ and we’d be happy to help you and your family breathe easier and safer. Whether you’re looking for more tips or dedicated IAQ equipment, such as a UV light system for your Tampa home, we’re ready to answer your call.

Call us today at 813.993.7995 for more info!