HVAC systems are supposed to keep your rooms at the appropriate temperature (whether hot or cold), ensure that the indoor air quality is high, and that humidity is minimal. However, if you don’t properly maintain your HVAC system, then it could be doing more harm than good.
Here are 4 different ways that your HVAC could potentially be worsening your physical health, and how exactly you can resolve these problems.
1.) Moisture Issues
By regulating the temperature in your home, your HVAC system can ensure that there isn’t too much moisture in the air. In turn, this should prevent microbial contaminants like mold, mildew and fungi from forming in the damper areas of your home, such as the bathroom. However, all this moisture must go somewhere. As a result, your air conditioning system can become a breeding ground for mold, mildew and fungi formations. Eventually, this could lead them to pump these microbial contaminants back into the air of your home. By breathing these spores into your lungs, you could cause all sorts of unpleasant lung conditions. In the most extreme cases, people have even developed Legionnaires’ Disease.
Fortunately, there is a simple solution to this problem. For starters, homeowners should have their vents cleaned if there are visible signs of mold growing in the ductwork. You can either clean them yourself or hire a professional. We recommend doing the latter because this prevents you from injuring yourself, and it ensures a proper job is done. A faulty HVAC system can cause moisture problems that go beyond breeding mold in your home, though. If your air conditioning isn’t properly removing humidity, then mold and mildew will continue to thrive. To overcome this problem, make sure you have your HVAC system regularly serviced which can be done through regular inspection and clearing vents.
2.) Stagnant Air
When you have an HVAC system, the temptation is to keep all the doors and windows closed, so you don’t lose hot/cool air to the outdoors and spend loads of money on energy bills. However, this can lead to the air in your home becoming stale. There is no fresh breeze to circulate the rooms and remove pollutants. This means that your HVAC system is sucking up the same stagnant air and pumping it back through your house, which can eventually be detrimental to your health.
Once again, there are some simple solutions to this problem. First, remember to open your windows from time to time. Next, invest in an air purifier if you can. Lastly, remember to buy replacement air filters to ensure that your HVAC system is working at optimal efficiency to clean pollutants from stagnant air.
3.) Dust and Dirt
Your HVAC system is a brilliant way to draw dust and dirt from the air inside your home. Eventually, this will cause these particles to get trapped and accumulate inside the air filters. As a result, your HVAC system could start spreading dirt and dust throughout your household, which you and your family would then be breathing in. This is especially problematic for those with asthma or allergies.
To prevent this from happening, make sure you are replacing the air filters.Don’t go for the cheapest option, either. This will be worse for your health in the long run, as they won’t last long or catch much dirt and debris. Instead, invest in quality products and buy them regularly or in bulk. We recommend having a look at air filters that fit your existing system, for example this site is offering air filters that work for an Aprilaire system and other household names that may be the right fit for you. This way you can ensure that the ones you find, suit your system. so that you can find the ones that suit your system and are the right size.
4.) Leaking Refrigerant
Refrigerant is the substance which makes the cooling system in your HVAC unit work. However, this chemical can sometimes leak and spread throughout the air, posing a massive risk to your physical health. People who are exposed to refrigerant will experience symptoms like nausea, headaches, dizziness, difficulty breathing and irritation in their respiratory tract. Some of the worst cases have resulted in organ failure and death.
If you suspect something is wrong with your HVAC system, don’t be complacent. Look out for the common signs that there has been a refrigerant leak. These include your air conditioning unit failing to cool your home, hissing and bubbling sounds, and ice forming on the evaporator coils. Never attempt to fix a refrigerant leak on your own. Instead, you should contact a professional as soon as you notice any of the signs we mentioned before.
These are the main ways your HVAC system could potentially be harmful to your health. We hope you have found some useful advice for overcoming these problems in our article today.