It’s winter in The Woodlands. That’s not as harsh a fate as it is further north, but it still takes its toll. While everyone works to stay warm, there’s another issue that often goes overlooked: indoor air quality in winter. The cold season is the worst time for air pollution in your home. When you’re keeping doors and windows shut up to keep the heat in, fresh air is unable to enter from outside, so the same air is circulating through your system again and again all season, picking up all sorts of particles and contaminants along the way.
What can you do about it? Here are three tips for improving your indoor air quality in winter.
Eliminate contaminants – Examine your use of household chemicals, such as spray paint and cleaning supplies. Check to see which of the products you’re using contain harmful pollutants and replace them with more environmentally-friendly products that won’t contaminate your air. Don’t smoke in the house, as cigarettes are one of the biggest causes of poor indoor air quality in winter or any other season.- Be aware of harmful gases. Radon and carbon monoxide (CO) are issues you need to be aware of all year, but in the winter, the lack of ventilation makes them especially troublesome. Make sure all CO gas is properly exhausted to the outside and not into your home. Have a professional check the exhaust flue.
- Ventilate your home. When it comes to poor indoor air quality, the core issue is poor ventilation. To improve your IAQ, improve ventilation. If it’s not too cold, open the windows for a little while each day. Otherwise, use fans to ventilate the house mechanically.
For more advice on how to improve your home’s indoor air quality in winter, contact our experts at Bradbury Brothers Heating & Air Conditioning.
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