Even if you’re an outdoor enthusiast, you still spend the majority of your time indoors, if for no other purpose than to sleep. Given these prolonged periods of exposure, it’s important that your indoor air be as pristine as possible.

Fortunately, if your Murrieta home suffers from low-quality air, there are steps you can take to improve your air quality and thereby improve your quality of life. To help you in this effort, here are some indoor air quality improvement tips from the pros at We Care Plumbing, Heating, & Air.

Let That Fresh Air In

One of the best ways to improve your indoor air quality is to dilute the pollutants that collect inside. Although there are a few methods to do this, the fastest and most effective way is to open your windows to let outside airflow in. For even greater effectiveness, you can utilize fans in your windows to draw in a higher volume of air. If you face one fan into your home and one fan faced toward the outdoors, you can create a cross-breeze that draws fresh air in and stale, polluted air out.

Of course, for this method to be effective, it’s important that you only use it on days when the outside air isn’t suffering from excessive pollution. Therefore, we at We Care Plumbing, Heating, & Air recommend that you check the air quality report before opening your windows.

Also, keep in mind that if you keep your windows open for a long time, your home will become the same temperature as the outside air. In the spring and fall, this is okay. However, if it’s a hot summer day, this could make your home uncomfortable. Therefore, it’s important to balance your need for comfort with your need for acceptable indoor air quality when using this method.

Search Out Sources of Pollution

Another important step in improving your indoor air quality is removing or controlling the sources of pollution. Indoor air pollution can come from a variety of sources, including new paint, new home furnishings, household cleaners, incomplete combustion in your furnace and water heater, and tobacco products. Outdoor pollutants can find their way inside as well.

With so many sources to track down, you can see that this has the potential to be a rather lengthy process. To help simplify the process, the pros at We Care Plumbing, Heating, & Air offer indoor air quality assessments to help you identify the specific pollutants in your home’s air so that you can work on eliminating the sources of these pollutants.

For new home furnishings, it’s sometimes best to leave them in a garage or protected outdoor area for a week or two to allow some of the harmful gases to escape. When using household cleaners, it’s important to open a window in the room where you’re cleaning to prevent the buildup of fumes. Of course, if you’re having a problem with your HVAC system or water heater, you can give us a call at We Care Plumbing, Heating, & Air.

The Radon Risk

Although you may know about the risk posed by carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas, you may not be aware of the risk posed by another colorless, odorless, tasteless gas: radon. Radon is a radioactive gas that results from the decay of certain radioactive elements. Even though you can’t detect it with your senses, it can cause serious damage to your health, resulting in lung cancer in thousands of people every year.

The first step to addressing radon in your home is to determine if it is indeed a problem in your home. You can use test kits that are sent off to test for the concentration of radon in your home’s air. You can also purchase a radon monitor that will give you ongoing updates on the radon level in your home.

If it is discovered that you have a radon concentration that is 4 pCi/L or greater, it’s important to take action. The only way to remove radon from your home is with a radon removal system. This system uses pipes placed below your home’s foundation that pull in the radon gas. The gas is then sent through a pipe that is placed above your home so that the radon can be released into the outside air before it has a chance to enter your home. With this system in place, the radon levels in your home will slowly subside over time.

Clean Your Indoor Air

After you’ve tackled the sources of indoor air pollution in your home, it’s a good idea to take steps to actively clean the air in your home. One simple and inexpensive way to do this is to place a variety of indoor plants around the rooms in your home.

Plants have a remarkable ability to draw in various pollutants alongside the carbon dioxide they need for photosynthesis. Rather than simply storing these pollutants, plants are able to destroy these pollutants, releasing pure, clean oxygen in the process. Therefore, if you have enough plants, you can dramatically improve the quality of the air in your home.

Another method to clean your indoor air is to use an air purifier. These devices use a HEPA filter to remove small particles from the air. They may also use an activated carbon filter to remove pollutants and odors from the air. Some even go so far as to include a UV light to help destroy pathogens that may be floating in your air. At We Care Plumbing, Heating, & Air, we can install a whole-home air purifier to ensure you’re breathing clean air no matter where you are in your home.

Be Aware of Your Air Quality

An important part of maintaining the air quality in your home is simply being aware of what you bring into your home. Since so many different items can be sources of indoor air pollution, it’s important to think about your purchases with indoor air quality in mind. This will help prevent unexpected decreases in indoor air quality, resulting in unhealthy air from an undetermined source.

Help for Home Comfort and Health

At We Care Plumbing, Heating, & Air, we want to be your partner for home comfort and health. We offer indoor air quality assessments and proven solutions to help you overcome your indoor air pollution problem.

On top of that, we offer a full line of plumbing services. These services include high-pressure jetting, drain cleaning, repair and installation of toilets and showers, water filtration, water heater services, and slab leak detection and repair, among others. We believe in the value of being able to take care of your entire home, no matter what type of needs you have.

This commitment to caring for our customers has allowed us to thrive as a company for over 20 years. Over that time, we’ve won many awards, including the Best of Murrieta award, the Angie’s List Super Service Award, the AC Pro President’s Circle award, and more.

Plus, we’re proud to partner with Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Orange County, CA, & The Inland Empire because we believe in the power of a healthy community. If you want to partner with us for your home needs, give us a call at We Care Plumbing, Heating, & Air today. We offer complete repair, maintenance, and installation services for both air conditioners and furnaces as well as many other services for your home comfort.

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