How Do You Know If Your Air Quality Is Low?

Clean air is important for everyone. The quality of the air we breathe can affect how well we work and may affect our health for extending periods of time. Poor air quality can affect us in many other ways as well. According to NOAA, the yields of crops and the productivity of the forests are adversely affected by poor air quality. And every year, thousands of people die because of exposure to air pollution. With those sobering realizations, it makes sense that you would want to investigate the quality of your air.

Testing Your Air Quality At Home

Any investigation concerning air quality should begin with monitoring your health and the health of your family members. Poor indoor air quality will often lead to a runny nose, headaches, coughs, watery eyes or even wheeziest. Symptoms of poor air quality will disappear when you and your family go somewhere else. If you have noticed these symptoms, then you should begin testing to identify the source of the poor air quality.

·       Locate a carbon monoxide detector in the kitchen or in rooms where there may be leaking gas or kerosene. The detector will sound a piercing alarm if there are high levels of carbon monoxide in the home.

·       Hire a professional to test for the presence of asbestos or lead. Asbestos may be used in floors, fireplaces or even paint. The most common place to find lead in the home is in the paint. The only way to get an adequate test is from a trained professional.

·         You can purchase testing kits to test for the presence of radon, formaldehyde or for mold. These tests will have specific instructions and usually require that you send in your samples for testing at a laboratory. The rates for those tests are reasonable.

·         A visual inspection of your home may turn up evidence of mold or compromised ventilation.

Testing the Air Quality at Work

This will also begin with an assessment of your health while at work and the health of the other people in the workplace. If signs of poor air quality are apparent, then you’ll want to take steps to make improvements.

·         Your employer should be responsible to obtain the necessary testing supplies and to carry out the testing process.

·         An inspection of the heating system, the air conditioning and then ventilation system should be performed by a professional.

·         Efforts should be made to establish an adequate air flow through the building. 

·         Chemicals used in the workplace should be investigated for warnings about poor air quality.

·         Employers must take reasonable efforts be sure that they have provided a healthy workplace environment for their employees.

Outdoor Air Quality

Outdoor air quality is usually tested by a business or organization when a business or government organization requests the testing. Outdoor air quality may be affected by smog, pollution, dust from agriculture, factories and automobiles and many other sources. Many states have air quality monitoring networks established in order to track air quality and to seek to improve the quality of the air being breathed by residents in the state.

If you fear that you are suffering from poor air quality, it is important to identify where you are being exposed and then to take steps to improve the quality of air that you’re breathing. No one should have to suffer from poor air quality.

For more on Ductless Air Conditioners visit our website http://www.kingersons.com

How to Maintain a Ductless Air Conditioner

Generally, ductless air conditioners last the same length of time as standard split air conditioners—which are more common in residential homes across the country - and homeowners will only need to replace their systems once every 12 to 15 years on average.

However, that time frame can be increased or shortened depending on how well and how frequently the air conditioner is maintained throughout the years. That is why it is so important to stay on top of these things and check the AC regularly for signs of excessive wear and tear, line breaks, or problems with drainage. Here are some useful tips for maintaining a ductless air conditioner:

Clean the Filters

It is important that homeowners regularly clean the filters in their ductless AC systems because without clean filters, there is a high likelihood that the system will not continue running properly for long. Thankfully, when it comes to ductless systems, homeowners can usually take care of putting in clean filters themselves. At the same time though, it is an important enough job that homeowners need to make sure to do it regularly if they want their ductless systems to continue working in proper order.

I also suggest removing trees, bushes, and all types of debris from the outside unit to maintain a ductless AC. That way, the unit can get air through the coils, and it can work properly. If an outdoor air conditioning unit gets too much of a buildup of natural plant life around it, it can become difficult for the unit to run at its most efficient level. This can cause unnecessary problems that will often result in costly repairs.

Call in Professionals

Aside from regularly cleaning air filters and keeping any outdoor units free of debris, I tend to recommend that clients watch out for certain signs and call in professionals in if they notice problems, rather than trying to repair or maintain a ductless system on their own. With ductless air conditioners in particular, homeowners should stay on the lookout for any plugged up drains that could be damaging or inhibiting their systems.

In Champaign, much of the AC repair work that needs to be done on ductless systems is caused by plugged up drains. While issues such as having water running down an outside wall are usually small enough that homeowners can clean up the dripping water on their own, I recommend that anyone who notices a signal like this call an HVAC repair company to come out and have a look at the drains as quickly as possible. Usually, dripping water is a signal that the drain itself has gotten clogged.

AC repair companies such as All Seasons Heating & Air Conditioning regularly clean and service these drains at people's homes, since handling these types of problems is much easier and faster for professionals than it is for homeowners who have never done this type of work before.

For more on Ductless AC, Split Air Conditioners, Mini Split Air Conditioners visit our website: http://www.kingersons.com