Factors Influencing Air Quality in Your Home

Air quality affects people's health, plants, pets, and various other situations, attributes, and living things. Since air makes up most of your surroundings, it's important to ensure that it meets healthy and qualitative standards, especially within your home. Many factors influence your indoor air quality. Knowing the various sources of poor air quality helps you optimize your home's air quality and create a healthy, comfortable, and safe indoor atmosphere for you, your family, and other home occupants.

Dust and Particle Buildup

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) measures air quality through the number of fine particles within the air. The more particles present, the poorer the air quality. Tiny particles remain and travel in the air. As you breathe, any lingering dust and particle pollutants in your surrounding atmosphere get inhaled, affecting your body in numerous ways. Too much particle intake blocks your airways, making it difficult to breathe, and causes a domino effect of health concerns. Dust and particle buildup within your home increases the number of fine particles trapped in the air, reducing indoor air quality.

Chemical Pollution

Along with dust and fine particle matters, chemicals and other air pollutants like volatile organic compounds (VOCs) also hinder your home's air quality. Like dust, they get trapped in the air and end up inside your body, causing numerous health issues. Chemicals often come from cleaning products, certain aerosols, and off-gases from new floors, petroleum fluids, paint thinners, and various other solids and liquids.

Humidity Levels

Humidity increases the density of air. The thicker the atmosphere, the more likely various substances linger and get caught in the air, reducing its quality. High humidity levels occur from hot temperatures and increased moisture levels. Bathrooms and kitchens often produce the most humidity in a home, but all rooms become susceptible to high humidity levels in warm weather. On top of trapping pollutants, various living things thrive in a humid atmosphere, including bacteria and mold, further reducing your air quality and causing numerous health concerns.

Stagnant Air

Stagnant air collects and increases the pollutants in your surrounding atmosphere. Without air ventilation, your indoor air stocks up on toxins. Air circulation and ventilation move the air's various lingering pollutants and particles to different locations, allowing clean and fresh air to take its place. Like humidity, stagnant air thickens, decreasing air quality and creating harmful living conditions.

Many factors influence your home's air quality. However, just as there are numerous causes, there are also various solutions. Installing a ductless mini split is one option. Knowing the causes and what to look for to minimize poor air quality ensures you and your home stays happy and healthy.