Cleaning the air in your Huntingdon Valley, PA home is about far more than changing your HVAC air filter regularly. Although standard air filters can reliably extract dirt, dust, carpet fibers, and pet hair, countless allergens and contaminants slip right through their larger mesh. Even many upgraded air filters with higher maximum efficiency reporting value (MERV) ratings can’t pick up micro-fine contaminants like viruses, bacteria, and mold. To optimize your IAQ, you may need the help of an air purification system. Read on to discover some of the many impressive health benefits that whole-house air purifiers provide.
What Are Whole-House Air Purifiers?
Whole-house air purifiers are integrated HVAC system accessories that are installed in air ducts or attached to them. After passing through HVAC air filters, conditioned air is moved through these appliances before being distributed throughout homes. Air purifiers have dense, high-quality filters with larger surface areas. Some also use electric charges, UV lights, and other features and technologies to neutralize chemical contaminants and kill harmful pathogens on contact.
Air Purifiers Slow the Spread of Communicable Illnesses
If you have someone who’s sick in your home, sneeze aerosols and the pathogens they contain could allow for the rapid transmission of illness from room to room and person to person. During the flu and cold season, an air purifier will create a healthier living environment by extracting and deactivating the bacteria and viruses that pass through your ducting.
Eradicate Mold Spores
Air purifiers aren’t an effective, standalone solution to widespread or persistent mold problems. However, these appliances can be powerful weapons in homeowners’ fights against mold. If you have mold in your home, vacuuming, dusting, and engaging in other activities that agitate or dislodge mold accumulations could lead to a rapid decrease in your IAQ. Active mold infestations can also leave HVAC ductwork and the interior of heating and cooling equipment riddled with these growths.
Given that whole-house air purifiers are installed in or attached to ducting, they’re an excellent way to curb concentrations of airborne mold spores and eliminate their dank, musty odors. For residents, this could mean having fewer mold-related symptoms like:
- Low energy
- Recurring headaches
- Ear infections
- Itchy, watery eyes
- Frequent bouts of coughing, sneezing, or wheezing
With cleaner, fresher indoor air, residents may even experience modest improvements in their mental well-being and enjoy deeper and more restful sleep.
Reduce Concentrations of Dangerous, Gaseous Contaminants
Sometimes, the indoor contaminants with the highest concentrations are steadily off-gassed by building materials or released while residents are performing essential, everyday activities. Harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like formaldehyde, benzene, and ethyl glycol are off-gassed by many popular flooring materials, flooring adhesives, paints, and engineered woods. Even cooking indoors creates and releases VOCs.
Air purifiers catch and neutralize these and many other gaseous contaminants. They also neutralize the countless chemicals introduced into the living environment by spray-on surface cleaners, oven cleaners, room-freshening sprays, and scented candles.
Radon Gas
If you have a sump pump in your Huntingdon home, there’s a slight chance that you have measurable radon in your indoor air. Radon seeps in through poorly capped sump pumps. It can also enter homes via unchecked slab leaks. Although the best solution to radon contamination is to stop it at its source, having an air purifier installed will keep residents protected until radon problems are identified and resolved.
Exhaust Gases From Fuel-Combusting Appliances
All fuel-combusting appliances are vented outdoors. This way, the carbon monoxide (CO) and other exhaust gases they produce are funneled away from building residents. Unfortunately, even when furnace and water heater exhaust systems are diligently maintained, there’s always the risk of back-drafting, exhaust leaks, and other problems. Whether burning a log in your fireplace, turning on your heater, or parking your auto in your attached garage, your air purifier will extract and neutralize all of the harmful exhaust that doesn’t escape through your venting system.
Extend the Lifespans of Air Filters and Your Heating and Cooling Equipment
Air purifiers pick up the micro-fine particulates that pass right through standard HVAC air filter mesh. Without an air purifier, your AC condenser coil, furnace thermocouple, heat sensor, and air intake valve could all become coated in thick debris buildup. By picking up and retaining particulates as small as 0.3 microns, air purifiers limit stress on heaters, heat pumps, and air conditioners and extend the lifespans of HVAC air filters. This allows for better temperature and humidity control, reliable air filtration, and lower HVAC operating costs.
Since 1989, we’ve been proudly serving Huntingdon Valley, PA and the surrounding area. We provide stellar heating, air conditioning, and indoor air quality services. We also offer water heaters, home generators, and preventative maintenance plans. To find out more about air purifiers or experience their benefits firsthand, contact AAA Brothers Heating & Air Conditioning today.
