Indoor Air Quality

Hi, I'm Tom Ruse. Marketing Communications Manager at Aprilaire. There's alot of expert advice out there about Indoor Air Quality.  There's also alot of not-so-expert advice.

In my years of helping support the Aprilaire brnd, I've learned that there are tons of ways to improve your indoor environment; create a healthier, more comfortable, and energy-efficient surrounding. Some solutions are ok, some are great and some just don't pass the sniff test.

The most important thing about making choices regarding improving your indoor environment is to do some research and make informed decisions based on what is right for you .

Some call it Indoor Air Quality. Now there's alot of buzz around Green living. We sometimes refer to it as Indoor Air Comfort. Whatever. It's really all about better living, isn't it?

No two ways about it, cigarette smokeis hard to avoid. Even with the best air cleaner on market. Alot of scammy makers of air purifiers will have you thinking you'll never smell or be harmed by 2nd hand smoke if you use their product.

I won't do that. Even our Model 5000, the best whole house particulate removal product, will not deter the harmful affects of 2nd hand smoke. It WILL help clean your air of all kinds of nasty stuff; virus-sized particles, allergens and other contaminants.

It's best just to properly ventilate, or maybe just don't smoke in the house. Go outside with the other 2nd class citizens!

Air Duct Cleaning. Some think it's a scam. I doubt that, but I expect the need would depend on your home and your family. There's no question dust and all sorts of nasty things get hung up in heat ducts and can dislodge and become airborne again. Is it worth it to get them cleaned? Probably. Especially if you have allergies.

Here's a loosly related story about things getting hung up.

When I bought my house it was about 30 years old; a big 2-story; solid, well-built but really worn. Needed alot of work. It had been a foster home for years and it really showed the wear and tear.

One of the nice features I remember when we looked at this house was a laundry shoot; crucial really, especially for a two story with laundry facilities in the basement (two flights down from the bedrooms, where most of the laundry comes from and goes to).  REALLY handy!

It was a good sized shoot. You could stick your whole head in and look around. Once in a while we'd catch the kids climbing in and dropping down into a pile of dirty clothes on the basement floor (Thankfully they never tried this from the 2nd floor).

When we first moved in I noticed something hanging in the shoot between floors. A rag or a piece of clothing or something got caught on nail or something protruding from the wall inside the shoot.

I got a broom handle and snagged it. It was a very large pair of women's underpants. About the size that would've fit the previous owner. Presumable dirty, since it was hung up in the laundry shoot! EEEEEEW!

So, who knows what kind of treasures might be hanging around inside your air ducts!

Get a contractor to check it out occasionally! And while you're at it, have your entire HVAC system cleaned and checked.

If you have an Aprilaire or SpaceGard air purifier / air cleaner and you typically replace the flters yourself,  ask an Aprilaire dealer in your area. Often they will sell them to you off the shelf. And they'll be the real deal!

UNLIKE CLEARTHEAIRINC.COM, I'LL BE VERY STRAIGHT FORWARD WITH YOU.  Take a look at the estore on Aprilaire.com , just so you get an idea of what the real thing looks like.

Sure, you can buy them there. But that's not the point. I could care less if you buy from our estore. We're the manufacturer! We get the sale of Aprilaire product regardless of where you buy it. Just go there to see the pictures.  Then you'll know what the real deal looks like. Then. if you want to shop around, you can get them cheaper on other websites or from your local dealer. 

And at least you'll know what you're getting for your dollar.

One of my favorite things to do is watch home improvement shows on PBS late on Sunday afternoon. I got into the habit a few years ago when I was heavily involved in reahab at my own house (rehabbing the house, that is). It became kind of a  ritual; at the end of a long weekend; often times working on some rehab project, it was nice to sit down with a cold one and see how the pros do it.

Since then, I'm not quite as religious about catching the shows, or working on the house (must go hand in hand). The two that I still watch the most are This Old House and Home Time.

I'm excited now that Aprilaire is going to be featured on an upcoming project on HomeTime; a new construction project with all new green innovations. It will be very cool.

You can go here and click on the Stone Cottage Flyaround Video.

I'll keep writing about it as it happens. Can't wait.

This is from a leading HVAC trade journal, not really for consumers but a really good article and I need a blogpost bad!!!!

We would a little more information, such as the age of the home and it's tightness but on average a model 600 humidifier will cover 1000 sq ft in a loose home, 2000 sq ft in an average home and 4000 sq ft in a tight home.  If you do decide to go with one humidifier, please have your installing contractor install the humidifier on the furnace that functions most of the time.

Commented on by Robert F. at 1-6-2010 10:33 PM

My Model 700 just doesn't seem to be doing the job on my 2700 square foot house here in Louisville KY. My furnace man came out yesterday and pronounced it in good working order and observed that he didn't think it would ever get my house to 30% or above with the current outdoor temps of low 20s. Is that true? There is no way to get my humidity up to the proper level with your product? Thanks for any info or help you can provide. PS. 20 year old well insulated house with a new furnace and humidifier and your air cleaner also. No condensation on the windows and I have about 4 different hygrometers working since they all read a little different anyway. They are currently reading in the 20-25 % range.

Robert

A model 700 CAN deliver over 30% RH to a home your size and larger.  But there are a ton of factors that may be affecting this. If it's colder than 20, it might be a challenge for the humidifier to maintain above 30%. And even though you say the house is well insulated, since it is 20 years old it may be a bit "looser" than newer homes; perhaps not using the latest insulation and maybe looser windows and/or doors. This could affect the capacity to deliver higher degrees of RH.

Take a look at the info in our owners manual for more info about the settings on the control. You might be able to adjust the setting slightly to increase the RH. 

It might also help to use hot water to flow to the humidifier. Not essential, but it is more efficient to the evaporation process. This,  along with running your blower more often than just when there is a call for heat, will increase vapor through your ductwork.

I've written about this interesting phenomenon before; that certain types of plants might act as air filters, absorbing pollutants in our homes and releasing cleaner oxygen.

I just ran across an interesting debate about this. One is a blog which reports the findings by NASA about the filtering benefits of plants. 

The other, which was someone who commented on the blog post, shares a link to Building Ecology, which disputes the evidence, stating that 1. plants filtering effects are negligible, 2. the NASA study was done in static chambers which don't accurately simulate a home environment, and 3. Get this: Plants could actually contribute to poor indoor air quality, releasing excess moisture when it's already too humid.  And if pesticides and fertilizers are used, those are no picnic for the indoor air we breathe.

So now you have two sides to story.

Anyway, the Building Ecology site has alot of other interesting information about Indoor Air Quality. Spend some time there.

For example, it sites a study that shows that sunlight, and its production of Vitamin D, may help control the spread of H1N1 and other viruses by assisting in "proper immune system functioning and could play a role in resistance to infections such as the influenza virus".

The site is also quick to stress "the importance of scrupulous standards of hygene to combat the spread of viruses". So don't let your guard down just because the sun is shining! Mr. Sun may help, but you still have to wash your hands!!!

It's like when we talk about the benefits of using air cleaners to reduce contaminants in our air. These are real benefits to be sure! But they should be used IN CONJUNCTION with proper hygene and taking normal precautions to avoid exposure. DUH! An air cleaner won't protect you from someone sneezing in your face, for example. Or from someone scrathing their nose and then touching your silverware with H1N1. Eeww!

So, let the sunshine in, get some fresh air, filter the air you breathe in your house and keep your hands clean (and every other surface you can reach). And if Aunt Gladys is sick with the flu, tell her to stay home and rest. It'll do you both good.

Here's to a 2010 without H1N1.

Found this interesting article from Douglas Walkinshow, an indoor air quality engineer, about the quality of air in airplanes.

Take special note of the study quoted which links the spread of viruses to low humidity levels.....By the way, this applies to your house as well as airplanes.

Keep your humidity levels in check not only for your comfort but for your health.

In my last post, I quoted a do-it-yourselfer who installed his own humidifier. I quoted him because he pointed out the energy savings story behind proper humidity levels; an often overlooked benefit of controlling your humidity.

I also discouraged DIY installs. Here's another perfect example. Here, the guy explains how badly the previous owner of his house had botched a humidifier install, so now HE'S going to "do it right". And yet, read how many questions this genius has! Oh yeah. He's real sure of himself!  After reading this, how confident are YOU that it'll be done right!?

Hey, nothing wrong with DIY in general. Contractors love em because when the jobs get botched, guess who gets called to fix it? That's right! The contractor. After calling the "buddy down the street who knows alot about alot of stuff", or the "uncle who does his own electrical", or that "what's-his-name-handyman"....all to save a buck.....the right answer is to call a pro.

Here's a shameless copy and paste of a customer review on Amazon. I hesitate to show this, because it's from a do-it-yourselfer.

We DON'T RECOMMEND installing these units yourself. We get all kinds of complaints from homeowners who tried and failed. IT'S NOT WORTH IT! Spend the extra money and call a qualified HVAC contractor! It's a one-time deal. Don't cheap out!

Besides, if you install one yourself, it NULIFIES THE WARRANTY!

Anyway, the point is ENERGY SAVINGS! With proper humidity, IT'S FOR REAL!



Easy to install and automatically adjusts to keep house comfortable while preventing too much moisture and condensation from forming on windows. With proper humidity control we were able to reduce thermostat setting by 3-5ºF and pocket the fuel savings.

I don't often link to blogs because there are so many out there that go right to poorly-worded content about how great portable room air purifiers are without giving mention to whole house solutions. Of course they always link to ads for.....room air purifiers. Horray!

 Here's a better one! Not only because it discusses whole house solutions but also because it doesn't have an ad associated with its contents. Pretty credible, then.

We all know the challenges of homeownership. Ranking high on the list of challenges is   simply maintenance of all mechanicals and materials. It's expensive, critical to the value your largest lifetime investment,  and often much of it is beyond a homeowner's control or knowledge.

Many homeonwers have love/hate relationships with contractors; or really anyone who is hired to do a job around the house. They love getting the job done, and keeping things well-run, but they hate the costs, doing the legwork to find the right source, being unsure of bids and recommendations.

The good news is that doing that legwork is well worth it. There are tons of really qualified contractors in your neighborhood from which to get advice, quality service and at reasonable rates.

My fellow blogger Pat has a couple of ideas about HVAC maintenance in his blog posts; good ideas for shopping for the right source.  and  HVAC Maintenance .

And a great HVAC contractor in New Jersey, Joe DiGanji of Air Group,  is quoted on New Jersey.com ;  Alot of good tips here. 

Bottom line is that when it comes to getting help with anything around the house, don't be afraid of the process! Ask neighbors, go online, make some calls and give contractors a chance to help. Once you've done some homework, you'll know that you're picking the right person or company for the job.