03/26/2020
๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฆ๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ค๐๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ค๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ
Staying home means spending even more time inside your home. We already spend one-third of our lives sleeping in our homes, but with work-from-home and stay-home orders we may be spending upwards of 90% of our time inside our homes. Indoor air quality has never been more important.
People produce COยฒ from breathing and everyday activities like cooking. Elevated COยฒ levels will impair cognitive function at levels as low as 1000ppm. (450-500ppm is natural) I've measured in excess of 1800ppm in my house while cooking with no ventilation active. If we are working from home, we don't need to be making ourselves less smart.
Of course, biologicals are of primary concern for a lot of people during these events and there are things we can do about that too. Following the CDC recommendations to practice good hygiene and staying six feet away from strangers is the best advice. But, we can also take some precautions in the house to help keep our indoor air as safe as possible.
๐ญ. ๐ฅ๐๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐๐ต ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ๐๐๐น๐
Almost all homes have a bath fan so this is an easy one. If you donโt have a ventilation system like an HRV or ERV, you can run your bath fan. This will not be as effective as an HRV but it will force fresh air to enter your home to make up for what the bath fan exhausts. If your kitchen vent actually blows outside (many just recirculate through filters that rarely get changed) this can be an alternative to the bath fan.
๐ฎ. ๐ข๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐ถ๐โ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐บ
Now that temperatures are reaching the 50-60โs during the day, the cost of heating a little extra air is probably worth the benefits of making sure you keep healthy during these times. Close them back down when it drops down again at night. You only need one or two windows partially open to make a huge difference in IAQ.
๐ฏ. ๐ฆ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ๐ผ๐๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ โ๐ข๐ปโ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป โ๐๐๐๐ผโ
Not all systems have this option, like baseboard heat for example. But if you have a ducted or ductless-split air-based system you can tell your system to always run the fan. This will increase the air filtration and circulation of fresh air throughout the home. This comes at an electrical cost again, but in these times I think it may be worth the exchange.
๐ฐ. ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ป
Changing air filters is one of the most important parts of maintaining your HVAC system in normal times. But, being overzealous with air filter changes has some added benefits to us in these times. Air filters not only clean the air we breathe, but they also slow down the flow of air through our HVAC system. It sounds counterintuitive, but more expensive and higher quality air filters actually exasperate that problem. A finer filter not only has smaller passages for air, but they clog up with debris more quickly. Now more than ever we want the maximum amount of circulation to make sure fresh clean air is being distributed throughout our homes. If the air isnโt moving, it isnโt getting cleaned and if you are implementing #3 you will be getting more run-time on your filters as well.
๐ฑ. ๐จ๐ฝ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ
This one isnโt always as simple as buying a better filter media but for many, it can be that simple. Some systems, especially perhaps older ductwork with newer equipment may suffer from a limit of airflow to make your equipment happy. But for the rest, upgrading the media is as easy as removing the old and inserting the new. IH&P always recommends pleated paper style filters (not the inexpensive brillo-pad style). But they come in some common ratings. Look for a MERV rating. Simply having the letters MERV means its a good filter, to begin with. However, there various grades of MERV filters with higher numbers providing higher levels of filtration. MERV 8 is about a low as you will see commonly. MERV 17-20 is in the HEPA range that you will find in hospitals.
๐ฒ. ๐จ๐ฝ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ
This one may require an investment if you havenโt already got one. We have long been proponents of active air filter systems like the AprilAire 5000 electronic air cleaner. The manufacturer claims it will capture airborne particles the size of to***co smoke and smog, ๐ง๐๐ข๐ค๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ค๐ง๐ฃ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ช๐จ-๐จ๐๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ฉ๐๐๐ก๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ช๐ก๐ฉ๐ง๐-๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ฉ๐๐๐ก๐๐จ โ ๐๐ค๐ฌ๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐ค 0.01 ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ ๐จ๐๐ฏ๐ and trap airborne pollen, mold, and spore-sized particles less than a micron in size (up to 120 times smaller than a human hair). While it won't kill viruses on its own I think it still warrants a place in our antiviral solutions given its performance.
๐ณ. ๐จ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ-๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ
If you donโt have a ductwork system and want higher-level filtration and purification we recommend a stand-alone air purifier with UV-C capability. A unit like this one from GermGuardian (https://amzn.to/2wDt3Ut) has both HEPA filtration and a ๐๐-๐พ ๐ก๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐๐ค๐ก๐ค๐๐๐๐๐ก๐จ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ช๐จ๐๐จ. You can also use these to supplement your other filtration systems by placing them in each room. UV-C lamps are true antiviral solutions as they will kill most biologicals. You can help us in these times as we get a little commission if you use the link above.
๐ด. ๐๐ป๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฎ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐น๐ฒ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ ๐จ๐ฉ-๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ(๐)
if you are lucky enough to have a ductwork system a whole-house UV-C lamp can be installed in the equipment to ๐๐๐ก๐ฅ ๐ ๐๐ก๐ก ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ช๐จ๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ค๐ก๐ค๐๐๐๐๐ก๐จ that may be in the air. We also have solutions for ductless split systems that can be installed on/in each zone. These have the added benefit of reducing odors quite effectively as well by breaking down the molecules that cause the odor. Customers report that โpost fishโ cooking small dissipates much quicker with a UV lamp.
๐ต. ๐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ต๐๐บ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐
This may be one of, if not the most, beneficial recommendations of the list. As opposed to other antiviral solutions, this is more about making you more resilient. The recognized authority in indoor air quality is ASHRAE, or the American Society of Heating Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers. Many decades ago, they established a standard for the indoor relative humidity to be roughly 50%. Despite its convenient round number, 50% work out to be the right one. The human body does best if relative humidity can be kept at our near 50%. If the air gets more humid, our homes tend to grow more undesirables like mold and dust mites. If the air gets dryer than 50%, we as humans begin to suffer. ๐ผ๐ฉ ๐ง๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ช๐ข๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐๐ก๐ค๐ฌ 50%, ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ข๐ช๐๐ช๐จ ๐ข๐๐ข๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐จ (๐๐ฎ๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐จ๐) ๐๐ง๐ฎ ๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ช๐จ ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐ช๐ก๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ช๐จ๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ค๐ก๐ค๐๐๐๐๐ก๐จ. In cold weather, your house may not tolerate humidity levels this high, but even when itโs really cold most home can deal with at least 30%RH. If you see water condensing on your windows you RH is getting too high for your house and you risk growing mold in hidden places. In our current situation, I would tend to push the envelope as much as possible to keep our bodies in prime condition to fend off illness. Portable units can humidify room-by-room but IH&P can install whole-house solutions even if you donโt have ductwork.
๐ญ๐ฌ. ๐ ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐
of course, staying away from other people is critical but getting outside has so many benefits for your overall health and wellbeing. Even if itโs cold and raining the natural light and fresh air will do both your physical and mental health substantial good.
