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You may not realize it, but your home’s HVAC system can have significant health impacts on your entire household.
As we spend more time inside of our homes than ever before, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is becoming increasingly important to ensure that our indoor environments are healthy. The HVAC system in your home plays a significant role in determining your home’s indoor air quality (IAQ).
When your air is not clean and your IAQ is low, your family has an increased risk of becoming ill.
Let’s go over how your home’s HVAC unit can impact your health and what to do about it.
Asthma or Allergies
If you notice that you or anyone else in your household seems to be experiencing bad allergy or asthma flareups, your air quality could be to blame. Dirty HVAC filters or ducts cause dust and other asthma and allergy triggers to float throughout the house. When you breathe these particles in, they can cause asthma and allergy symptoms, including difficulty breathing, sneezing, and itchy or watery eyes.
Regularly changing your air filters is an integral part of ensuring this doesn’t happen.
Decreased Cognitive Performance
HVAC and health issues can also impact your ability to concentrate, make decisions, and other cognitive skills— something we definitely can’t afford right now as we work and learn from home. For example, if it’s too hot in the kitchen where the kids are doing virtual school, it will become hard for them to concentrate on anything other than the discomfort of sweat dripping down their legs. To avoid this, make sure your A/C unit is running properly, and if it appears there may be an issue, call in an HVAC technician.
Headaches
We all get headaches from time to time, but if you start experiencing frequent headaches, it may be caused by your HVAC unit. Dusty or dirty air ducts can lower your home’s air quality, leading to chronic headaches. Dirty air filters and rooms that are too warm can also lead to headaches.
HVAC Leak
A leaky HVAC unit is another potential health hazard because many furnaces use natural gas or oil to provide heat. If this leaks, Carbon Monoxide, which can lead to death, will begin to circulate throughout your home. If you have a furnace that uses oil or gas, and you or your family members begin to experience any flu-like symptoms, open the windows, leave your home immediately and call a professional immediately.
Regular HVAC maintenance is key to maintaining a healthy and productive living environment. Contact an HVAC specialist to conduct an inspection of your HVAC system o ensure everything is running as it should.
The experienced technicians at American Heating and Cooling in Nashville can quickly diagnose your HVAC issues and get them fixed ASAP.
Ready to have your HVAC unit checked out?
If you are in need of help keeping your home working and living space comfortable, contact the expert team at American Heating Cooling. Our team has been the trusted source for air conditioning and heating services in the Nashville area since 1981. Contact us today; let’s find a solution for you!