Skip to Content
Serving Port St. Lucie, Jupiter & Surrounding Areas
Emergency Service Available 772-356-1735
Elite Electric, Plumbing & Air Elite Electric, Plumbing & Air
Top

3 Ways to Address Indoor Air Quality Problems

Air Quality

The Best Ways to Improve Indoor Air Quality

The air quality in your home has a noticeable impact on daily life. Long-term exposure to indoor air pollutants like formaldehyde or mold can lead to recurring allergic or asthmatic reactions and may cause or exacerbate respiratory and cardiovascular issues.

You can take steps to improve your home's indoor air quality (IAQ), dramatically reducing the risk of adverse health outcomes and enhancing the comfort of your Port St. Lucie, FL, area home.

What Are the Causes of Poor Indoor Air Quality?

Indoor air pollution results from manufactured and naturally occurring compounds. The most common causes of indoor air pollution are:

  • Natural air pollutants like pollen, pet dander, dust, mold, mildew, and radon. Radon is a natural gas emitted from the soil that sometimes seeps into homes through cracks. It is estimated to cause an estimated 21,000 lung cancer deaths in the US annually.
  • Synthetic chemical pollutants like formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen dioxide. These chemicals are often emitted from furniture, paint, cleaning products, or combustion (gas-powered appliances, fireplaces, and more).

These pollutants are common, and at low levels, they are less likely to hurt your health. However, when highly concentrated, they pose significant risks to human health.

Common Symptoms of Bad Indoor Air Quality

Health experts warn against the short- and long-term effects of poor indoor air quality. The most common signs of poor IAQ include:

  • Respiratory issues, including runny nose, sinus congestion, cough, difficulty breathing, and sneezing
  • Eye, nose, and throat irritation, including watery or dry eyes
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Nausea
  • Irritability
  • Nosebleeds

In most cases, these symptoms will seemingly resolve after you leave home. But daily, long-term exposure may exacerbate symptoms that rarely completely dissipate.

How to Improve Your Indoor Air Quality on a Budget

Improving indoor air quality is not a daunting task. By focusing on and mitigating the causes of indoor air pollution, homeowners can easily breathe better in no time!

You can reduce indoor air pollutants and improve indoor air quality with these tips:

Address the Root Causes

Dust, vacuum, and clean regularly to keep your home fresh. This will reduce dust and allergens like tree pollen. If you suffer from allergies, it might be a good idea to dust and sweep daily when pollen counts are high. During allergy season, consider keeping your windows closed, especially in the afternoon when pollen levels peak!

Also, remember to keep your home smoke-free. Using exhaust fans in your kitchen and bathroom can remove smoke and keep humidity in check.

Maintain Healthy Humidity Levels

Aim to keep your indoor humidity between 30% and 50% year-round. This is comfy and helps stop mold and dust mites from settling in. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends this for a healthier home!

Use Your HVAC System

Keeping your HVAC system in great shape is key to enjoying good indoor air quality. Your heating and cooling systems circulate air, manage humidity, and filter out pesky dust and allergens.

Make it a habit to change your air filter every 1-3 months. If you have pets or anyone in your home has health concerns, changing it more often is smart! Also, remember to have your HVAC system checked once a year to keep everything running smoothly.

Read more: Air Conditioning Basics Made Easy

Can Indoor Plants Improve Air Quality?

Yes and no. While it's true that certain types of houseplants can remove VOCs from the air, the impact is limited. More recent studies have found that it would take an incredible number of plants to have a measurable effect on real-world conditions. A meta-analysis of these studies found it would take roughly 1,000 plants per square meter of floor space to clean indoor air – that’s approximately680 plants in a 1,500-square-foot home. So, even if you live in Palm City and have filled your house with palms to match, they couldn’t be relied on as a sole solution for IAQ.

Contact Port St. Lucie’s IAQ Experts

Improving your home’s indoor air quality is a smart investment in your health and well-being. The friendly professionals at Elite Electric, Plumbing & Air offer a range of services, including HVAC, electrical, and plumbing, to help you achieve these goals.

Call 772-356-1735 or contact us online to schedule HVAC, electrical, or plumbing services in Port St. Lucie, Jupiter, and the surrounding areas.