Combatting Poor Indoor Air Quality in Puyallup, WA

Indoor air pollution is among the top environmental health risks facing Americans. This is true even in regions where outdoor air pollution is historically low. Indoors, pollutants can concentrate to very high levels and affect both your short- and long-term health. Let’s look at strategies recommended by organizations like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to combat poor indoor air quality (IAQ). Schedule Seasonal HVAC Maintenance Schedule a cooling tune-up each spring and a heating tune-up each fall. During these visits, your HVAC technician will comprehensively clean your HVAC equipment. If applicable, that includes the evaporator and condenser coils. That deep clean will prevent your HVAC system from negatively affecting your IAQ. Control Dust in the Home The EPA warns that dust is the top concern when it comes to indoor air pollution. That’s because dust is much more than just dirt. It’s a mixture of pollutants absorbing other pollutants and continuing to release them into your air over time. The EPA recommends a deep dusting of your home at least once a week. You may need to dust more often if you live with someone who has asthma or severe...

View Article

Read More

Pet Dander and How It Affects Indoor Air Quality

All homes are filled with a wide range of allergens, such as pollen, dust mites and mold spores. If you own almost any type of pet, then your home’s air also likely contains a high concentration of pet dander. Similar to dandruff shed by some people, dander is basically just dead skin cells. Specifically, it refers to the skin cells shed by any animal with hair, fur or feathers, including humans, dogs, cats, birds, guinea pigs and other pets. Some animals, such as hypoallergenic dog breeds, shed less dander, but all animals produce at least some. Pet dander is especially an issue for allergy sufferers or people with respiratory issues, but it can really affect anyone and lead to coughing, sneezing, runny or itchy eyes and a variety of other symptoms. Many pets also give off other allergens that can further worsen indoor air quality. For instance, both cat and dog saliva contains various allergens that stick to their fur whenever they clean themselves, and these allergens then get into the air whenever the animals shed their fur. Cat and dog urine contains numerous allergens as well. All of these different allergens mean that indoor air quality is typically far...

View Article

Read More