DeHart Plumbing, Heating, and Air Inc. Blog: Archive for the ‘Indoor Air Quality’ Category

Combating the Spread of Winter Illness With Air Purifiers

Monday, December 14th, 2020
virus-cells

This winter people are more worried than ever about the spread of illnesses inside their homes. Winter is traditionally a time when people are more exposed to colds and cases of flu because they’re spending a larger amount of time indoors in close proximity to other people. Additionally, many viruses and cold germs thrive in drier, colder environments, and these conditions contribute to dried mucus and sinus membranes that lower the body’s natural defenses. 

You do have options for improving the quality of your indoor air during the winter. There isn’t anything that can guarantee to stop the spread of all germs and microbes but using a professionally installed air purifier in Stockton, CA can significantly reduce the number of harmful particles circulating through your house. These same air purifiers can provide help against allergens and asthma triggers during the spring allergy season.

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A Few Sources of Poor Indoor Air Quality in Homes

Monday, November 16th, 2020
woman-with-allergies

The quality of air in many homes is much worse than it should be. This isn’t because polluted air from outside is moving inside. It’s because too many pollutants indoors are trapped there, with scant circulation of fresh air to remove them. This is an unfortunate side-effect of the improvement in home construction to make houses more energy efficient. The tight construction limits the ventilation that removes the concentration of pollutants.

The Pollutant Sources

“But where are these pollutants coming from?” That’s the big question. There’s no single answer because there are a range of sources for indoor pollutants that lower the quality of the air in a house. Below we’re going to look at some of the most common.

Appliances the combust fuel

If you live in a house that uses natural gas for cooking, heating, and other tasks, that is one of the main sources for harmful chemicals. True, you aren’t dealing with a toxic level of carbon monoxide (you have CO detectors to warn you if this is the case) or other gases, but they still have long-term health effects.

Building materials

Many modern materials used for the construction of homes have potentially harmful chemicals in them that will enter the house. An older home may have asbestos in it. Pressed-wood, which is much more common in homes today than even ten years before, often has chromated copper arsenate (CCA) in it, which contains arsenic, chromium, and copper, all of which can create health problems.

But the most common harmful chemical found in building material is formaldehyde—which also can result from combustion and cleaning products. Formaldehyde is often found in particleboard, hardwood paneling, and fiberboard.

Cleaning/Hobby/Personal Care Products

A large number of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) arise from these materials that can be found in almost every household. VOCs include numerous chemicals that can affect people’s health in both the short and long-term.

Mold

Yes, you may have mold hidden somewhere in your house, possibly in the ductwork or located under floorboards where excess moisture has allowed it to grow. Toxic mold spores are a significant danger in homes where mold is growing.

The Horror! What Can I Do About This?

You’re probably not likely to tear out all the walls and throw away every cleaning supply you have and then stop using your gas stove. But although you don’t have many options for reducing these sources of air pollutants in your house (aside from mold and asbestos remediation), you do have options for better indoor air quality in Modesto, CA when you work with us. We offer numerous IAQ solutions, including:

  • Air filters and air purifiers to remove contaminants.
  • UV air purifiers to target organic pollutants, including mold spores.
  • Heat and energy recovery ventilators, which allow for fresh air circulation without a loss of energy efficiency in the house.
  • Dehumidifiers to remove the source of mold growth.
  • Duct sealing and repair to improve ventilation.

Get in touch with our professionals, and they’ll get started finding out exactly what your house needs for better, healthier indoor air quality.

Your home should be a breath of fresh air. With Greenhart, you can Live Green, Save Green!

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How Our Professionals Do Duct Cleaning

Monday, November 2nd, 2020
duct-cleaning-brush

Cleaning air ducts in the HVAC system of a home is an important service to help with energy savings and protecting indoor air quality. Ductwork naturally collects dust, dander, lint, and other debris; after about a year a thin layer will already build up inside the ductwork. Given enough time, this build-up creates resistance against airflow that lowers HVAC efficiency. It also turns into a reservoir of pollutants that circulate through the house, affecting air quality and making the home generally dirtier.

Thorough professional duct cleaning removes almost all of this debris and cleans other parts of the ventilation system. We recommend scheduling duct cleaning in Modesto, CA every three to five years with our team.

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Ways We Can Improve Your Home’s Ventilation System

Monday, October 19th, 2020
vent-cover-in-ceiling

The ventilation system in the walls and ceilings of your house is often neglected as part of the overall comfort system. People focus on the heating and air conditioning, but ventilation misses out on the upgrades, tests, and repairs it needs.  A poor ventilation system can ruin the best AC or heater, create massive energy waste, and harm indoor air quality. 

What can you do about it? In fact, is there anything wrong with your ventilation system?

We can answer the second question easily with duct testing services. This will give us the data about the state of your ventilation system we need to know so we can decide what else needs to be done. Below are three major services we offer to improve your ventilation system.

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How Can I Tell If I Have Leaking Air Ducts?

Monday, October 5th, 2020
duct-sealing-with-caulking

Leaks in the ductwork of a home are a major problem, and they are unfortunately one of those problems that often goes unnoticed or unrepaired for far too long. The consequences of leaking air ducts can be extremely high, so it’s important to know if your house has duct leakage. You can then arrange for a professional to seal the ducts and restore the integrity of the ventilation system.

Of course, that leads to the question of how to detect if you have duct leakage in the first place. The ducts are well-hidden within a home, so you can’t visually inspect them. But there are other signs you can watch for:

A drop in airflow from the vents

One of the immediate effects of leaks in the ductwork is that it lowers the air pressure in the ventilation system. Ducts must be kept airtight to maintain air pressure, and the consequence of a drop in air pressure is that the airflow from the vents will also drop. If you put your hand to the room vents and notice the airflow is weaker than normal, it may be duct leaks.

Uneven comfort around the house

Lower airflow will also mean rooms cool down/heat up slower, which will lower comfort around the house. This will happen unevenly: certain rooms will still feel normal, while hot and cold spots will appear in others. Duct leaks aren’t the only cause of uneven comfort, but it’s a serious problem no matter what the source.

Odd odors from the vents

Leaks in the ducts will allow air from closed-in spots of the home to infiltrate the ventilation system, such as between walls and from the attic. This will carry a musty and sometimes moldy odor to the rooms.

A rise in energy costs

The biggest chronic effect that duct leaks have on an HVAC system is that they place more stress on the blower, heater, and air conditioner. Around 30% of the air moving through the ductwork can disappear through leaks, and this is air you’ve already paid to heat/cool and push into the ventilation system. The HVAC system will need to put in extra work to overcome this deficit—and that means energy bills will rise. If you see steeper bills to heat and cool your house and you can’t account for the change, you probably have duct leaks.

Solving the Problem

If you suspect duct leaks, the next step is to contact our professionals. We will test the ventilation system to find out if it has leaks and how extensive they are. If you do have leaky ducts, the next step for us is to seal the leaks. We use a range of methods to ensure your ducts will be restored to airtight condition once more. (By the way, store-bought duct tape isn’t a method we use. This “duct tape” is not actually useful for ducts.)

To schedule duct testing and duct sealing in Modesto, CA, call our professionals. We’ll help you live green and save green.

Greenhart serves Modesto, CA and offers duct repair services for leaking air ducts. Live Green, Save Green!

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Duct Cleaning: The Difference Professionals Can Make

Monday, September 7th, 2020
ductwork-in-attic

You may have heard cautions about duct cleaning, and some of these are well-founded. Unfortunately, there are many non-professionals who solicit homeowners to hire them for “duct cleaning.” What they provide hardly merits the name—they can charge a low price because they don’t do much work, and the ducts are rarely much cleaner afterward than before.

But duct cleaning is an important service that residential homes need done every few years. But the cleaning must be done by professionals who have the right tools. This isn’t just a quick vacuum job that takes less than an hour. Professional and certified duct cleaners use powerful blowers to change the pressure inside the ductwork and agitate dust and other debris from the walls. A special vacuum system then removes the particles from the ventilation system. Separate rotary brushes are used to spot-clean areas around the house.

Why This Is Helpful

Professional duct cleaning is beneficial to your house in several ways. Here are the main reasons we recommend scheduling duct cleaning in Modesto, CA every few years.

  • HVAC System Efficiency: Even a thin layer of dust collected along the interior walls of flexible ductwork creates resistance against airflow. As dust, lint, and dander continue to build up inside ducts, the airflow resistance increases and causes the blower of the HVAC system to work harder and drain more power. Running the heater and AC in a home will become more expensive after years of missing out on duct cleaning.
  • HVAC System Longevity: The extra strain placed on the HVAC system from airflow resistance will cause the parts to age faster. Worse, all that extra dust and debris inside the ventilation system can get into the HVAC cabinet and cause damage to motors, the evaporator coil, and the heat exchanger. Cleaner ducts mean a healthier and longer-lived HVAC system.
  • Better Indoor Air Quality: Think of the ducts as a reservoir of dust and lint. It’s not an easy place for you to clean, so unlike the rest of your home, the dust remains year after year. When the HVAC blower turns on, it sends out this debris into your home, where it circulates. This can make for a home that’s dustier and which also can be unhealthy for people who have asthma and allergies.

When to Call for Duct Cleaning

Not certain if you need to have the ducts in your house cleaned? We recommend this service at least every five years, so if you’ve already lived in your house longer than that and haven’t had duct cleaning yet, it’s time. You can also make a visual check: open the register for one of the vents in your house, then put your hand down into the duct shaft and take a picture with your smartphone. If the image you see looks like a clogged air filter from a car, call us to schedule duct cleaning.

Our team has the top industry-approved tools for this job, and our technicians are experts at thorough duct cleaning.

Call Greenhart to schedule duct cleaning services for your home. We help you “Live Green, Save Green!”

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The Air Filter on Your AC/Furnace? It’s NOT to Make Your Air Healthier

Monday, August 24th, 2020
man-with-furnace-filter

Air filtration systems are one of the standard ways we can help a home enjoy healthier air free from the majority of large contaminants circulating through the HVAC system. But often when we bring up air filters, homeowners are confused. “But I already have an air filter. It’s in the HVAC cabinet, and I change it every few months with a fresh one. Isn’t that helping with air quality?”

We understand why people are confused about this. The truth is that the air filter on your AC and furnace is not designed to improve indoor air quality. It may have a minor effect on it, but to enjoy tangible benefits to air quality requires having professionals install dedicated air filtration systems in Modesto, CA.

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The Dilemma of Modern Homes and Indoor Air Quality

Monday, August 10th, 2020
spinning-fan

Our company exists to help homeowners overcome the dilemmas they face with houses that are uncomfortable and energy inefficient at the same time. It’s an unfortunate fact for many people that they live in homes that are stuffy and uncomfortable with air quality far worse than it should be, and yet they’re paying high energy bills for the “privilege” of inferior living.

Today we want to specifically address the trouble with indoor air quality Modesto, CA. IAQ is a big trouble spot for homes, and we’re going to explain why this situation exists. Part of it is because attempts to make homes more energy-efficient end up creating a new problem (often without solving the original energy waste problem).

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Understanding the MERV Rating and Air Filters

Monday, July 27th, 2020
air-fliter-cu

Air filtration systems are one of the basic building blocks of indoor air quality for a home. We offer many types of IAQ services for our clients, but air filtration in Modesto, CA solutions are one of the most common. Among the top systems we install are PureAir S, the Carbon Clean 16, and the Clean Air 11.

However, finding the right air filtration for a home isn’t something we do by selecting the most powerful filters available. That can lead to serious problems with the HVAC system in the house. We take into account many factors when it comes to choosing air filters. One of the key factors is MERV, the rating system measuring air filter strength. To help understand the importance of finding the right air filters, we’re going to go into more depth about MERV.

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How Duct Sealing Can Help Your Home

Monday, June 29th, 2020
Inside-an-Air-Duct

It’s our job to help homeowners live green and save green. We’re one of the fastest-growing companies for helping people in Modesto enjoy healthier indoor lives while improving energy efficiency. That’s what going green is all about.

“So what does any of that have to do with duct sealing?” you might ask. Plenty! People often take their ductwork for granted when it comes to making green improvements on their homes, instead of focusing on the installation of air purifiers, energy recovery ventilators, and insulation improvements. But sealing leaky ducts is an essential step toward making an energy-inefficient house into a super-green money-saving machine.

The Problem With Leaky Ducts

Because you can’t see most of the ductwork in your house (nor do you want to), you won’t know how easy it is for the ducts to begin to leak air. Age, corrosion, insects, high air-pressure, objects moved around in the attic … all of these can lead to small air leaks starting in the ducts. And small leaks can create big problems:

  • Air loss: You can lose around 30% of the air moving through the ventilation system to these leaks. This means that air you’ve already paid to heat or cool is going to waste in closed-off sections of the house. Do you want to spend 30% of the money you use for the air conditioner to cool down the attic? Probably not, but you may be doing just that if you have leaky air ducts.
  • Extra wear and tear: Losing that much air from the ductwork means the heater and AC must put in extra work to replace it. Yes, that’s expensive; but it’s also extra strain placed in the HVAC system. The additional wear and tear will take years off the system’s lifespan and lead to additional repairs.
  • Weak airflow: The air pressure inside the ducts drops because of leaks, and this means low airflow coming from the vents. You’ll notice hot and cold spots around the home and a noteworthy decline in comfort because of compromised ducts.
  • Dirty air: Plenty of dust and debris can enter the ducts through these leaks, leading to a drop in air quality. The leaks also allow more humid air into the ventilation system, which not only affects comfort, it can lead to mold and mildew growth.

Duct Sealing to the Rescue!

You can see from the list how much trouble you’ll stop with sealed ducts. You’ll have healthier air, more energy-efficient HVAC equipment, and better comfort. Leaking air ducts are one of the principal problems our experts look for when we conduct a home energy audit—there are few places where a house wastes energy faster than through a leaky air duct system.

We offer duct sealing in Modesto, CA using the best tools. We can test your ducts and use special video camera inspection equipment to ensure we locate all the leaks and have them sealed up. Ask about a full energy audit for your house, and we’ll find the best ways that you can live green and save green.

Call Greenhart for duct sealing and a No-Charge Home Comfort Profile. Live Green, Save Green!

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