IAQ (indoor air quality) is an important part of your home’s health

By: Brian Schutt  |  July 24, 2024

IAQ (indoor air quality) is an increasingly hot topic as homeowners consider the health of their home. Many people are also spending more time working from home in recent years. This means making the home safe and healthy is top of mind for everyone. While it’s showing up in the news and culture more, IAQ is something we’ve been talking about since the start of Homesense. We see it as an important component to your overall HVAC system (falling within the ventilation portion). We want Indianapolis homeowners to be as safe and healthy in their home as possible, and this is one way to do so.

Indoor air quality statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show:

• Indoor air is 2-5 times more polluted than outdoor air. This is because modern homes are a highly insulated environment (good for most parts of life). This means fresh air is not circulated indoors as often as it is outside.
• Indianapolis is ranked 9th in major cities for highest year round particle pollution.
• The average American spends 90% of their adult life indoors. (This comes from before the covid-19 pandemic and is most likely a higher number now.)

All of this shows that mitigating the risks of indoor air will pay dividends for your personal health.

IAQ step one: duct cleaning

The best first step toward higher IAQ is a duct cleaning for your home. This is a great way to have a clean slate within your ductwork and ensure that the air moving through your system isn’t passing over dust, dirt, and other debris before moving into your living spaces. We’ve talked extensively about duct cleanings here, but our general recommendations are to have them done if:

1. It’s been five years since the last duct cleaning in your home.
2. You recently moved into a new home.
3. You notice increase allergies within your home.

IAQ step two: air purifier

While a duct cleaning gives you a clean slate, installing an air purifier into your system helps actively fight pollutants in your home and keep it safe and healthy for the future. Installing an air purifier is the best thing you can do for the IAQ in your home for the long term. Our top recommendations in this area are the Reme Halo and the iWave. Both of these products actively work to take out VOCs, pollutants, and allergens in your home. Many of us here at Homesense have them installed in our homes and we trust the Reme Halo so much we have it installed in the Homesense office.

Additional Tips

There are a lot of other things you can do to make sure the air quality in your home is as healthy as it can be. Follow us on Instagram for our weekly #tuesdaytip, many of which have to do with indoor air quality. They’re small reminders that can make a big difference to your daily life.

You can also check out our comprehensive blog post on everything IAQ.

Interested in having a duct cleaning done or installing an air purifier into your system. We’re here to help! Reach out via our appointment scheduler or give us a call at 317-203-8149.