At Indoor Air Quality, we’re passionate about clearing the air – figuratively and literally – when it comes to environmental conditions within your home. Therefore, we need to address the most common myths floating around out there, much like so many pesky particulates. Today, let’s dispel the ones we hear about most from prospective clients in hopes of helping you make informed decisions regarding your health and wellness.
“Just Install a Humidifier”
While crucial that you regulate indoor relative humidity – between 40 and 60 percent being the ideal range for the average home – installing that efficient humidifier isn’t a band-aid solution. It won’t eliminate fungal spores if you have an established culture of mould within your walls. It won’t entirely alleviate allergens if you have high particle counts or a pest infestation to deal with. And it certainly won’t tackle common causes of poor air quality such as leaks, drafts, wood rot or otherwise. What it can do, if there are no other issues hiding within your property, is make the indoor environment conducive to a healthier immune system, suppress dust and electrostatic shocks, and help you feel more comfortable. Proper humidification is important for every room of your home, but you need to also take care of any other causes of reduced air quality that it can’t address.
“There’s No Need to Clean the Dryer Vent that Often”
This couldn’t be further from the truth. Dryer vents and exhausts are not only regularly packed with allergens, off-gassed chemicals, dust and other hazardous particulates, but they can reintroduce them into the indoor airstream if ventilation becomes too blocked. Worse still, there’s a chance of a dryer vent fire if regular cleanings aren’t performed. At the very minimum, we recommend doing this once a year, and more often if you have a large household and deal with a lot of laundry.
“Use an Air Freshener!”
All air fresheners really do, as mass-produced chemical cocktails, is further complicate your indoor air quality – spraying a mouldy basement isn’t going to do anything! Using one of these is akin to toxifying your home further. Ignore your satisfied sense of smell and stay away from these at all costs, and instead open a window to let fresh outside air in. The best and only true “air freshener” is mother nature!
For more information on how to keep your indoor air hygienic and healthy, or to request our dedicated testing services at Indoor Air Quality, contact us today. We’re happy to help in any way we can.
