Tightly Sealed Home and your Indoor Air Quality

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Homes today are built to be more energy efficient, which can be good on your wallet, but could cause harm to your health. They are meant to keep air inside to avoid losing heat in the winter and keep heat out during the summer. Energy efficient homes are great though because your heat bill doesn't skyrocket because you are only heating your home, not heating the outdoors. But this also means the harmful air particles that get into your home stay in your home because they can't escape. So even in the summer when you open your windows to let fresh air in you are also letting pollutants in. This is why you want to make sure that you have good air filtration for your home to capture those particles. This doesn't mean you shouldn't breathe that nice fresh air on a summer day flowing through your house, it just means you should have something in place to help capture those particles from traveling freely through your home such as an air purifier, or a high quality pleated furnace filter to help out.

Here is a breakdown of the four most popular air pollution sources; animal dander, pollen, tobacco and mold & mildew. If you are allergic to cats or dogs your actual allergy is to the skin flakes which is known as pet dander. Pet dander can stay in the home long after the pet is not around. Pollen is everywhere from flowers, grass and trees. Every time you open your door millions of pollen particles can sneak into your home. There are certain times of the year when certain pollens are more prominent but they still are there year round. One of the smallest allergens is tobacco smoke. Studies show the health effect from second hand smoke is just as bad as the actual smoker. Places that are warm and humid are the ideal places for mold and mildew to grow, but they are typically found in the kitchen, shower and basement.

We believe that an energy efficient home is what we should all strive for for the many great benefits, but don't forget to keep tabs on your indoor air quality. That tightly sealed home is keeping more than the heat in.

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