Indoor Air Quality

• Particulate matter – dust particles, pollen.
• Biological contaminants – bacteria, viruses, animal dander, mites, rodent or insect droppings, mold.
• Building materials – older homes contain asbestos and lead. Newer homes contain chemicals and materials that outgas (VOCs).
• Fuel-burning appliances – can produce carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂).

Cleaning products and chemicals – also contaminate the air we breathe.

• Allergies or asthma that seem worse at home or in certain areas of the home.
• Dust buildup on furniture and other horizontal surfaces.
• Stale odors in certain parts of your home or throughout the house.
• Humidity problems, including mold and mildew growth or damage to wood furniture.
• An excess of construction in your area or even in your home.

Electronic Air Cleaners

Air passes through charged plates or media. The charged plates ionize the air. There is often a prefilter that needs to be replaced regularly. Different manufacturers charge the wires differently, either with a negative or positive charge. After the charged ionizing wires, there are collector plates with the opposite electrical charge as the ionizing wires. Furthermore, the particles are given an opposite charge at the collector plates, which causes the particles to be automatically attracted to the oppositely charged collector plates. Lastly, some manufacturers claim that their electronic air cleaners filter particles down to one micron. The Respicaire Microclean 95 claims to be 95% efficient and effective down to 0.3 microns in a 1-inch-thick filter (this is a very popular electronic air filter).

Air Purification

Air purification is the process of sanitizing the air by neutralizing airborne toxins (gases and off-gassing, bacteria, viral or fungal matter, toxic pathogens, etc.). Beyond filtration and the removal of particles, a residence needs some type of air purifier added to the air system to neutralize toxins, bacteria, viruses, etc.

This includes Air Scrubbers (trade name), ultraviolet sterilizers, air purifiers, and ozone generators. Air purifiers are typically portable and used in one room. Air Scrubbers go in your HVAC system, continually scrubbing air as it circulates. Ozone is less popular today, as it can have harmful effects on the body.

Atomic Theory

An atom is neutral if it has equal numbers of protons and electrons. If we use a purifier/sanitizer, we unbalance the atom through ionization. When an atom has extra electrons, the atom is a negative ion. An atom will always seek to be neutral. So, when an atom is ionized, it will seek out another ion to bond with to become a stable and happy ion. It will seek contaminants to bond with to balance itself.

• We can help you install a high-efficiency air filter on your furnace. These come with varying levels of filtration, and we’ll help you get one that will get more of the dust and particulates out of your air without overtaxing your furnace.
• Raising or lowering the humidity levels in your home can also improve the quality of the air you’re breathing. We can help you install a whole-home humidifier or dehumidifier that will do this so you don’t have to think about it.
• Other whole-home filtration units are also available.

• The only true way to know how good or bad your air quality is is to use an indoor air quality meter. The layperson should see less dust, allergies, health issues, and a general improvement in air quality. We use IAQ meters to pretest your air before we install air cleaning equipment and use the meters to quantify the results.