Let’s face it, indoor air quality has become a hot topic over the past several months. Up until recently, the prevailing thought was that the air inside your home was far superior to the air outside of it. In most cases this is simply not true. There are many aspects of a home that improve its air quality inside. Keep an eye out for these three important qualities when purchasing a home or when you are looking into making a home improvement investment.
Air Sealing:
A well air-sealed home has three main benefits: Less dust, less bugs, and greater humidity control. What most people don’t know is air is being pulled in through all sorts of cracks in openings in the home you don’t know exist. Most of them aren’t around doors and windows; they’re in hidden places. Take the rim joist of the home. There are small gaps where the foundation meets the joist. These small gaps are a prime entry location for small insects, dirt particles and moisture. Don’t believe me? Look for cobwebs in your basement or crawl space. Spiders tend to build their webs close to an entry point, so where there’s a web there is going to be a gap that needs sealing. If you need to find a home performance company to help, reach out to Pearl and we’ll put you in touch with one of our Pearl Contractors.
Sealed Ducts:
There are so many benefits to well-sealed ductwork from a cost savings and comfort perspective. Let’s focus on what it means solely for indoor air quality. Think about the location of your ductwork. It’s usually hidden behind your walls, under your feet or above your head and tucked away in the attic, crawlspace, behind the walls or in the garage. These places have higher levels of airborne contaminants — including dust, dirt, and mold. As the conditioned air is running through the duct it’s sucking in all these contaminants and blowing them through your vents into the air you breath. If you or someone in your family suffers from allergy-like symptoms or asthma, you may want to call someone in to seal up that ductwork.
Quality Air Filtration System:
Speaking of air traveling through your HVAC system, it’s always a great idea to make sure that the air is filtered as best you can. Most systems give you the ability to add a filter to help clean up your air. Use a simple fiberglass filter or upgrade slightly to a MERV 13 to rid yourself of viruses, smoke, and smog. If you’re looking to take the air quality to the next level in your home, you can explore adding a HEPA filter on to your system to help rid yourself of all contaminants that you might breathe -- but you will want to consult a professional for this one, as HEPA filters are so good that they reduce the amount of air flowing through your system, which can create other problems.
There is no reason why the air inside your home can’t be as enjoyable as — or better than — the air outside of it. Follow the above steps to breathe easier. When we make investments like these, not only are we bettering our health, we are also adding value to our homes. Pearl is always here to help introduce you to qualified agents that know how to leverage these types of features during the real estate transaction.
