Your home’s air quality can have major effects on your health if not properly maintained. Poor indoor air quality could cause numerous major and minor health issues. If left untreated, your symptoms could worsen, leading to a serious health problem.
To protect your family’s health, learn the key signs and impacts of poor indoor air quality. At E.A.C. Heating & Air, we specialize in providing air quality services and solutions that will maintain your home’s air quality and protect you and your family.
Signs Your Home Has Poor Air Quality
Detecting poor indoor air quality can be difficult because many of the signs can be blamed on other factors. However, because your home is tightly sealed, the air inside it is often indeed the issue.
You and your family can experience detrimental health effects from poor indoor air quality, so it is important to understand what signs can be attributed to your home’s air quality as they arise. Some key indicators of poor indoor air are:
- Frequent sneezing, coughing and headache: It can be easy to blame these symptoms on allergies, but if you or your family members begin experiencing allergies when you’re at home, the air quality is likely to blame.
- Irritated skin: Poor indoor air quality can also cause your skin to become dry, leading to irritation or redness.
- Mold or mildew: Due to poor air circulation and high humidity levels, your home could become a breeding ground for microbe growth and mold and mildew.
- Dust buildup: If you notice a significant amount of dust gathering on the vents around your home, the air is not being filtered effectively.
- Humidity issues: An ideal level of humidity is between 35%-50%. Too little humidity can lead to dry or itchy skin, and too much can lead to mold growth.
- Inconsistent air distribution: If different areas of your home are different temperatures, your HVAC system is failing to maintain temperature control.
- Odors: Because poor air quality causes mold and humidity issues, you may notice an odor in your home.
Ignoring any of the above issues could lead to multiple consequences — specifically, health-related effects.
Possible Health Effects of Poor Indoor Air Quality
You can experience various consequences of poor indoor air quality, both major and minor. Some of these issues cause short-term health effects, while others result in long-term conditions. Unnoticed or untreated poor indoor air quality could impact your health in multiple ways. Some minor issues include:
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Watery eyes
- Coughing or sneezing
- Congestion
- Fatigue
- Nose bleeds
Some of these symptoms are similar to allergy side effects, meaning detecting poor indoor air quality can be difficult. However, if you or your family continually experience these symptoms, your home’s air quality could be to blame. Ignoring these issues for a prolonged period may lead to more serious health conditions if your home’s air quality is not corrected.
These minor health issues could progress, leading to severe, long-term health conditions, such as:
- Increased risk for cancer: Because poor indoor air quality causes particles to accumulate in the air, your lungs may not function properly, resulting in an increased risk for cancer. For younger members of your family, this particle accumulation can also prevent proper lung growth.
- Asthma: If your home’s air lacks proper filtration, dust can begin gathering around vents, in the carpet and on the furniture. This dust accumulation can worsen existing conditions or lead to the development of asthma.
- Hearing loss: In extremely severe cases, your home’s poor air quality could cause sensorineural hearing loss, resulting in damage to the inner ear. Once lost, your sense of hearing cannot be regained.
Identifying the minor health issues that come with poor indoor air quality is key to preventing more significant health problems that cause long-term effects.
Solutions to Improve Indoor Air Quality
Because of the effects of air quality on health, it is especially important to improve the air in your home when you notice an issue. Numerous solutions could improve your air quality, such as:
- Air filtration systems: Air filtration systems will filter the air and prevent dust buildup. These systems clear the air that circulates through your home and trap any pollutants or contaminants that could affect your health.
- Ultraviolet (UV) light systems: These systems improve your home’s air quality by destroying bacteria, mildew, fungi and mold spores with a UV bulb. These lights are typically installed in your home’s ductwork so they stay out of sight.
- Humidifiers and dehumidifiers: Because your home’s humidity levels are prone to fluctuating, using a humidifier will prevent irritated skin. A dehumidifier will prevent mold growth.
- Ventilation systems: Ventilation systems are a common way to maintain your home’s air quality. These systems will sustain a comfortable temperature in your house while keeping the air clean and free of pollutants.
Because of the wide variety of indoor air quality solutions, preventing the consequences of poor air quality in your home is easy. All you have to do is find the right answer for you and your family by employing the right heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) services from a dependable business.
Trust E.A.C. Heating & Air for Indoor Air Quality Issues
At E.A.C. Heating & Air, we specialize in indoor air quality issues and provide a range of solutions for your home. Our experienced and NATE-certified team of technicians can perform numerous services that you can count on, and our products are some of the most innovative options on the market.
With over 30 years of experience, we understand how to provide you with the services you need to improve your home and ensure your family’s safety. We even have a range of Healthy Home Solutions to improve your air quality. Choose from our options to find the solution that fits your household:
- Ventilators
- Air cleaners
- Carbon monoxide alarms
- Dehumidifiers
- UV lamps
To learn more about our services and high-quality products, browse our air quality service page to find the right solution for your home.