Understanding Indoor Air Quality At Home

Q: How do I purify the air in my house?

Whole home ventilators: These reduce pollutant accumulation and improve air circulation in addition to lowering carbon dioxide levels and VOCs. Exhaust fans: Use exhaust fans when cooking, showering, or cleaning. Consider adding a whole home solution. Air Purifiers: Use room air purifiers with HEPA filters or whole-home air purifiers with a MERV 15 filter to capture pollutants. Clean Regularly: Vacuum with a HEPA filter, dust, and clean surfaces to reduce dust and allergens. Control Humidity: Keep humidity levels between 40-60%. Avoid Pollutants: Limit use of synthetic fragrances, aerosols, and harsh chemicals. Change Filters: Regularly replace HVAC and air purifier filters. Learn more about how to change air conditioner filters .

By Travis Baugh

Understanding indoor air quality at home is essential for creating a comfortable and pleasant living environment. Most people spend about 90% of their time indoors and considering that the air inside your home can be up to 5 times more polluted than outdoors,¹ maintaining healthier indoor air quality has never been more important.

a couple sitting on a couch enjoying excellent indoor air quality at home

Pollutants That Affect Indoor Air Quality

Common indoor air pollutants include dust, pet dander, pollen, mold spores, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and chemicals from household cleaning products. Studies have shown that exposure to indoor air pollutants can cause a variety of health issues including respiratory diseases, cognitive deficits, heart disease and even cancer.²

Identifying Sources of Poor Indoor Air Quality at Home

Improving air quality at home starts with source control. By identifying and reducing common indoor pollutants, minimizing chemical pollutants, and managing dust and pet dander, you can create a healthier living environment.

Identifying and reducing common indoor pollutants is the first step. These pollutants include VOCs, mold, pollen, and tobacco smoke.

How to Improve Indoor Air Quality at Home

1. Improve Air Quality Indoors Through Air Filtration / Purification

Basic, 1-inch air filters in your HVAC system can trap larger dust and dirt particles. Efficient filtration can trap bacteria, virus-carrying small particles, mold spores. For even better whole-home filtration, the Carrier Infinity^® Air Purifier captures and inactivates select airborne viruses and bacteria trapped in its MERV 15 filter.³

Additional steps you can take to improve air filtration include:

Run your indoor furnace or fan coil on constant fan
Inspect/replace your air filter routinely
Have your HVAC system cleaned and maintained semi-annually by your local Carrier HVAC contractor

2. Use Ventilation To Improve Indoor Air Quality

Indoor air pollutants come from a number of sources – pollens, molds, viruses, dust mite matter, animal dander, carbon monoxide, tobacco smoke and volatile organic compounds from common household products.

Improving ventilation is the next step:

Use available exhaust fans when cooking, showering, cleaning or using other household chemicals

Contact your local Carrier dealer about balanced whole-home ventilation systems that efficiently bring fresh air inside and exhaust stale air outside. Relying on open windows and doors can waste energy, and lets unwanted pollutants into your house. Carrier’s ventilators do the hard work for you, providing filtered and conditioned outdoor air and avoiding wasted energy.

There are two types of balanced ventilators—heat recovery and energy recovery. Heat recovery ventilators are better for northern climates with a longer cold-weather season. Energy recovery ventilators are best suited for warmer climates, where excess moisture can be a problem. Condensation on your windows may mean you may have excess moisture within your home. A Carrier dealer can recommend which type of ventilator is best for your home.

3. Help Improve Indoor Air Quality In The House Through Humidity Control

Most people know that high humidity can cause discomfort in the hot, summer months. But according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), high humidity levels can lead to issues like mold and dust mites⁴. That’s why the CDC recommends maintaining relative indoor humidity between 40% - 60%

To control humidity in your home:

Run the air conditioner when it’s hot and humid
Talk to your local Carrier HVAC contractor about whole-home humidifiers and dehumidifiers.
High-end AC systems like the Carrier® Infinity® air conditioner with Greenspeed® intelligence allow you to select a specific humidity setting for moisture control

If you have anyone living in your home considered vulnerable to the effects of poor indoor air quality, or if you just spend a lot of time indoors and want to breathe a little easier, your Carrier dealer is an excellent resource for finding a solution.

¹ https://www.epa.gov/report-environment/indoor-air-quality

² https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/indoor-air

³ The Infinity® air purifier has demonstrated effectiveness against the murine coronavirus, based on third-party testing (2020) showing a >99% inactivation, which is a virus similar to the human novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19. Therefore, the Infinity air purifier can be expected to be effective against SARS-CoV-2 when used in accordance with its directions for use. Third-party testing (2012, 2007) also shows =99% inactivation for the type of virus that causes common colds, Streptococcus pyogenes and human influenza. Airborne particles must flow through your HVAC system and be trapped by the MERV 15 Infinity filter to be inactivated at 99%. The Infinity air purifier achieves a MERV 15 rating based on third-party testing (2012) showing 95% of particles size 1.0 to 3.0 microns captured and 85% of particles size 0.3 to 1.0 microns captured.

⁴ https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/151648

Frequently Asked Questions About Indoor Air Quality

How can I improve indoor air quality?

A few ways to improve indoor air quality are to enhance indoor air purification, control the humidity in your home, and improve ventilation. Carrier’s indoor air quality solutions can help provide healthier and fresher indoor air.

How do I purify the air in my house?

Whole home ventilators: These reduce pollutant accumulation and improve air circulation in addition to lowering carbon dioxide levels and VOCs.
Exhaust fans: Use exhaust fans when cooking, showering, or cleaning. Consider adding a whole home solution.
Air Purifiers: Use room air purifiers with HEPA filters or whole-home air purifiers with a MERV 15 filter to capture pollutants.
Clean Regularly: Vacuum with a HEPA filter, dust, and clean surfaces to reduce dust and allergens.
Control Humidity: Keep humidity levels between 40-60%.
Avoid Pollutants: Limit use of synthetic fragrances, aerosols, and harsh chemicals.
Change Filters: Regularly replace HVAC and air purifier filters. Learn more about how to change air conditioner filters.

What are the symptoms of poor air quality in a house?

Symptoms of poor air quality in a house may include watery eyes, runny nose, skin rashes, frequent or persistent headaches, eye, nose, and throat irritation, dizziness, dry skin, musty or chemical smells, or visible mold or mildew on walls or ceilings.

Connect With Carrier To Improve Air Quality Indoors

At Carrier, we understand the importance of clean indoor air. Our range of indoor air quality solutions are designed to help improve the air you breathe at home. From advanced air purifiers to efficient HVAC systems with built-in air filtration and ventilation solutions, we offer the expertise and products to enhance your indoor air quality. Contact your local Carrier dealer today.