An estimated 40% of Americans live in places with poor air quality. That’s about 137 million people at risk of the dangers of polluted air! Polluted outdoor air can also enter homes and affect indoor air quality (IAQ). Indoor air can sometimes even contain more pollutants than outdoor air. Your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, in turn, is a factor in your home’s IAQ. To that end, we created this HVAC repair guide discussing why you should check the IAQ in your Carmel, IN, home.
We’ll also tell you about your HVAC system’s roles in your IAQ, so read on.
1. Carmel Has Severe Air Pollution
The Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie metropolitan area has one of the worst year-round particle pollution problems. It’s the 13th most particle-polluted place in the 2022 State of the Air Report.
Also called particulate matter (PM), particle pollutants are tiny solid and liquid droplets. Some examples are acids, inorganic compounds, dust, mold, soot, and smoke. Air can carry them from the outdoors into your home through doors, windows, and air leaks.
PM can cause lung diseases like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It can also contribute to heart disease.
Some types of PM are too tiny to be visible; you’re more likely to feel their effects rather than see them. Don’t wait for that to happen; hire one of the most reliable Carmel heating and AC companies to test your IAQ.
2. Poor IAQ May Indicate Need for HVAC Repair
The poor IAQ in your home in Carmel, IN, may indicate you have a leaky or disconnected duct system.
For example, bacteria, viruses, molds, dust, and other pollutants can penetrate duct leaks. Cleaning the air ducts can help, but the priority should be to fix the leakages. Otherwise, new pollutants will keep entering them.
Leaking HVAC ducts can also create negative pressure that contributes to back-drafting. This problem can cause combustion gases from a gas furnace or water heater to re-enter your home. It’s dangerous as combustion gases include carbon monoxide (CO), a deadly gas.
If you suspect your poor IAQ is a sign of HVAC and duct system issues, please call an AC or furnace repair expert ASAP. Have them test your IAQ, check your system, and perform needed HVAC repairs.
3. HVAC Problems Contribute to Poor IAQ
An air conditioner leaking water can increase the humidity in your home in Carmel, IN. That can promote mold growth, which can lower your IAQ. It’s even more dangerous if your AC leaks refrigerant, as this substance is toxic at high doses.
A gas furnace with a cracked heat exchanger can also contribute to poor IAQ. That damage can cause gases like CO to leak into your home and contaminate your indoor air.
Another way your furnace can pollute indoor air is through a leaky gas line. If allowed to build up indoors at high levels, natural gas can cause asphyxiation.
So now that it’s fall season and winter is just around the corner, it’s best to schedule a heating tune-up and an IAQ test. That way, you can ensure your heater isn’t exposing your family to polluted air.
Time to Enjoy Cleaner Air
As you can see, checking your IAQ can help confirm you’re breathing clean air. It even reveals potential problems requiring HVAC repair. You can then have these issues fixed promptly to help improve your IAQ.
Are you ready to test and improve the indoor air in your home in Carmel, Indiana? If so, we here at LCS Heating and Cooling are happy to assist! Contact us now for all your IAQ and heating and cooling maintenance needs!
