Mold

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Mold spores are sneaky, virtually invisible in the beginning, but can destroy your respiratory tract in a matter of weeks. Mold can grow almost anywhere, but the conditions have to be just right. Dark, damp areas with a steady warm temperature are the ideal place for mold to begin growing. Places like under the stairs, inside walls, and corners are all spots that mold is usually found in homes due to poor air flow. To help prevent spores, keep these areas very clean and dry as possible, let fresh air around them whenever possible and always check for signs of mold spores. If you’ve got a humidifier in the home, keep it away from cramped spaces, move it periodically, and avoid clutter the best you can.

Bugs and Spiders

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Your home is the ideal spot for bugs to spend their winter, and they won’t hesitate to move right in. If you’ve sealed up your home good and tight, that means that no bugs are going to get inside, however it also means that none are going to get out. Families of fruit flies can spring up over night and before you know it, you have an entire infestation in your kitchen, spiders remain idle in the tall corners of your home, lay eggs, and let the tiny baby spiders run rampant in the home. The best way to stop the bugs is old fashioned cleaning. Right before you’re eady to close the door, give the house a good once over, check out the corners, under bookshelves and beds, and areas that don’t get opened often. If you want extra protection, Raid Seasonal Bug Spray blocks bugs from entering the home through cracks.

Radon

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Radon is a natural radioactive gas that gets released when soil decays. Even in homes without basements, radon can still be a threat, so before anything, getting your home tested for radon poisoning is a good idea. Radon leaks up from the soil through cracks and even the foundation itself of your home, where it gets trapped in the walls of your home. This can cause issues in the winter months especially if you’ve got the home all sealed up, there’s no where for it to get released to. Since Radon is radioactive, when it’s breathed in and gets inside your lungs, it creates bursts of energy that damage the tissue and is linked to types of lung cancer. However, the good news is that homes with radon can be fixed, but only once they’ve been tested, so if you haven’t already, get your home tested for radon.

Cleaning Chemicals

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So, the big question is, once I’ve got my home sealed up, what am I going to do about my cleaning supplies? The chemicals in household cleaning agents can be very dangerous if inhaled or ingested, and cleaning with these products is best done with the doors and windows wide open to keep the fumes moving. But when the snow is blowing, we can’t exactly prop open the screen door and start scrubbing the floors, can we? The best way to avoid this is to switch over to a more mild cleaning agent, and only use the bleach when necessary. This may mean that cleaning will be more frequent, but the fumes in stronger cleaning products can be very harmful for anyone who breathes them in.

Dust

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Dust can be found in every home. New homes, old homes, big homes, and small homes all over the world have seen their share of dust bunnies under the couch. Dust is a mixture of air pollutants, pet hair (if applicable), and human skin cells. Dust builds up in hard to reach and seldom used areas such as behind the refrigerator, top of bookshelves, the far inside of cupboards, and closets. The buildup can be especially problematic when the home is sealed tight for winter and the air flow is poor. Breathing in dust isn’t fatal, but can be harmful for the respiratory system through coughing. When you breath in dust, your lungs send a message to your brain that this contaminant shouldn’t be there, so you cough. Once the cough sets in, its hard to shake off and your bronchial tubes get irritated from the constant coughing.

Winter doesn’t have to be a painful season, and just because the doors and windows are shut tight doesn’t mean the home still can’t be comfortable. It just takes a little bit of foresight and common sense to avoid these household air quality threats. Anything we left out? Tell us in the comments below!

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A big problem that many homeowners face in terms of duct issues, is the distribution of air itself. If a duct segment is off its alignment, it exposes a hole that causes air to escape, heating the area that the leak is going through twice, or just getting lost completely. And if one area is getting too much air, then other areas of the home aren’t getting enough. On top of the irregularity of the air distribution, when areas of the home aren’t getting the proper amount of air, the central heating system works harder to make up for the wasted air, in turn costing you more on your electric bill.

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Home air ducts are usually constructed out of a thin, lightweight metal that are easy to rearrange, repair and, replace in the event of home remodeling. Newer homes may not have as many problems with leaky air ducts as older homes, but getting into the habit and mindframe of checking the ducts can help avoid leaks. So, before you blame the irregularity on the central heating itself, make sure you get the whole picture. Getting ahold of the inside wall plans of your home is a must for checking the ducts; it helps you see through the walls without getting a sledgehammer. Leaks are most likely to occur when the ducts turn or when there is a long stretch of duct with minimal support. Ducts are secured pretty tightly, but these areas are what you need to look out for most. Once you’ve located the potential leakage spots, take care and be aware. If one room or area of the home seems a little too well heated, while others are scanty, the first thing you should look into is getting an air duct testing crew to come and check it out.

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The air duct testing team uses a test that measures the pressure of the air in the ducts by blowing fans through them. If a leak in evident, they’ll notice a drop in the pressure as the air escapes through the crack. As well as being able to tell if a leak is present, the test can also determine where the leak is, how big it is, and with a little math, how much the leak is costing you. Problems with household air ducts don’t happen overnight, but when they do strike, it’s good to know what to look for and how to fix it.

Recipes for a clean house

• For an all purpose cleaner that works on just about anything, mix ½ c. of vinegar, ¼ c. of baking soda, and a half gallon of water.
• Bathroom shower mold can be fought with one part hydrogen peroxide and 2 parts water put together in a spray bottle.  Spray onto mold and wait an hour before wiping off.
• Normal tub and tile cleaning can be done by simply using a sponge to scrub in baking soda and rinsing with water.
• To polish your furniture, add a few drops of lemon oil into a 1/2 cup warm water. Mix well and spray onto a soft cotton cloth. Cloth should only be slightly damp. Wipe furniture with the cloth, and finish by wiping once more using a dry soft cotton cloth.
• Toilet bowls can be cleaned with ¼ c. baking soda and a cup of vinegar poured directly into the bowl of the toilet. Let sit for a minute, scrub, and flush.
• To clean your windows or mirrors, mix 2 tsp of white vinegar with 1 liter of warm water in a spray bottle.  Spray onto windows and wipe off with newspaper.

Glen J., AAA Heating & Air Conditioning Senior Technician

I am going to be remodeling our house soon and thinking about adding a filtration system of some sort to the furnace.  I have heard that there are things that I can do to cut down on allergies but am not entirely certain what those are.  Do you have any ideas? -Frank B., Kent

Well, the answer is twofold here– the short term solutions for cutting down on allergens while you are remodeling and the long term solution for your Indoor Air Quality to keep allergies at bay once the remodeling is finished.  Let’s start with the long term.

There are a lot of different types of products on the market that claim to cut down on allergens but in reality are more hype than substance.  An example would be the single room air cleaners that claim to purify the air.  Unfortunately, their effectiveness has proven to be minimal at best (just read the evaluation in Consumer Reports of the Ionic Breeze and you will see what I mean) and they really aren’t worth the money you will spend on them.  The most effective way of reducing the amount of allergens in your home is to install an Electronic Air Cleaner on your furnace.  A licensed heating and cooling contractor will be able to take a look at your existing system, tell you how the Electronic Air Cleaner (EAC) would fit into it and then give you a price for the EAC, including installation.  They really do work well to relieve the suffering that people with allergies have to go through.  In fact, one of the women who works in our office just had an EAC installed for her parents.  Her mom has chronic asthma and terrible allergies but has experienced a huge increase in the quality of life she has been able to have because of the number of allergens her Electronic Air Cleaner has taken out of the air in their home.

Now on to the short term.  Most people don’t think about their allergies as they are remodeling, but there are many things you can do to prevent them from flaring up while you are working on your house.  The Allergy Consumer Review (www.allergyconsumerreview.com) gives some of the following suggestions:

• Spend as much time out of the house as possible. This means schedule your remodeling for the summer months.
• The bedrooms are the most important rooms in the house. We spend 8 hours a day in there. If they are not being remodeled-have your contractors tape up the doors each day to prevent dust from entering.
• Close down the heating vents in your bedrooms during the day time to prevent dust from getting in the room.
• Use a high quality, completely sealed hepa vacuum on a daily basis to vacuum every inch of all bedrooms. Use a vacuum with on board tools to vacuum walls, crevices, furniture, floors.
• Try to remember to seal off your closets daily so your clothes remain dust free.
• Wear an allergy face mask walking around your house in the day time to avoid the dust.
• If your kitchen was remodeled, wash all your dishes afterward and throw out any “open boxed” foods.
• Doing the remodeling yourself? Wear a mask at all times and make sure your materials are toxic free. The mask is to help you not breathe in dust.
• Have your ducts cleaned after all the remodeling is finished to get rid of the dust and debris that has fallen into them.

As simple as it seems, avoiding close contact with anyone who is sick is the number one way to stay healthy.  And if you are sick, do everyone a favor and stay home from work or school.  Believe us, they will thank you.

Always cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing.  If you don’t have a tissue nearby, use the crook of your elbow, not your hands.  If you use your hands, you will spread the germs much more readily than if they were captured in your elbow.

Wash your hands frequently.  This is a good practice in general, but during the cold season, it is even more important.  You will stop the spread of your germs to others and prevent the spread of their germs to you.

Avoid touching your face at all.  Our skin does such a great job of protecting us that germs have to find a way in somehow.  The mouth, nose, and eyes are all hot spots that germs love to gain entry.

Make sure you get plenty of sleep, eat a healthy diet, and keep your stress levels down.  The immune system is compromised by a lack of sleep, improper nutrition, and high stress levels.  When your body has to concentrate on combating those problems, it has less ammunition for colds and the flu.

Ensure that you are changing or cleaning the filters on your furnace every couple of months.  If you have someone with a compromised immune system or someone who often gets sick living in your house, you might want to consider a UV light.  They are often installed in doctors office and hospitals to ensure that all of the bacteria in the air is killed as it is being circulated through the building.

While homeowners won’t have to necessarily worry about high levels of radon in their houses, this story does bring a message about the power of your furnace, heat pump, or air conditioner.  A good filter on your system will collect dust and other allergens, and allow your family to breathe well.  We strongly recommend talking to a heating or cooling company about your filtration options to ensure that the air inside of your home is healthy for you and your family.  You can always call us at 253-630-9224 and we would be happy to answer any questions over the phone for you.