How To Get Great Indoor Air Quality This Summer

With the first wave of COVID-19 starting to wind down in the last few days, we are getting more calls now for clients interested in making sure they are healthy this summer. This is how you get great indoor air quality this summer.

The biggest issue in Southern Ontario in the summer months are humidity and allergens. Humidity makes the heat and higher temperature seem uncomfortable. Humidity also manages bacterial and viral growth including mould spores. Humidity either too low or too high can have negative indoor air quality results.

For a healthy home this summer these are the 3 indoor air quality parameters that are the most important.

Top Three Things Needed For Best Indoor Air Quality This Summer:

1.Air Conditioning
2.Air Purification
3.Ventilation

Air conditioning keeps indoor temperature as well as indoor relative humidity levels at comfortable and healthy levels. Make sure your indoor humidity does not get too high this summer. Solution? Air Conditioning keeps relative humidity at comfortable levels.

To Prevent Viral Spread Indoors, Relative Humidity Must Be Maintained Between 40%-60%
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-researchers-look-at-how-humidity-can-impact-virus-transmission/

Air purification is important in making sure outdoor allergens such as pollen, ragweed and mould spores provide a safe haven or sanctuary from seasonal allergies. These days with a potential viral spread, air purification is also crucial in controlling airborne viruses and airborne mould spores indoors. Having an efficient furnace filter is not enough. Ordinary pleated furnace filters only protect your furnace and ductwork. They are not very efficient in purifying the air that you breathe. We have air purification systems designed to control outdoor as well as indoor bio-threats.

Lastly, ventilation is crucial to keep outdoor allergens as well as indoor air pollution from affecting the health of your family. Poor ventilation leads to an accumulation of airborne bacteria, airborne viruses, airborne mould spores and airborne dust allergens. Poor ventilation also leads to an increase in gases and VOC’s and is usually the leading cause of odours indoors.

The Financial Times summed it up best. Healthy Buildings can help us fight coronavirus.
https://www.ft.com/content/5083fd42-4812-11ea-aee2-9ddbdc86190d

If you’re looking to improve the indoor air quality in your home and make your home a healthy home sanctuary…give us a call right now. We offer the best HVAC systems, healthy air conditioning systems, air purification systems and ventilation solutions in the GTA.

Make your home a healthy home and get the best indoor air filter Toronto this summer.

Is Your Home Helping To Protect You From COVID-19?

New Studies Link Indoor Air Pollution and Covid-19.

New data indicates a possible link between indoor air quality and the risk of spreading COVID-19 in homes as well as workplaces.  Here are some of the recent headlines:

Indoor Air Quality and COVID-19.  Is Your Home Protecting You OR Possibly Harming You?

Coronavirus Lingers in Air of Crowded Spaces, New Study Finds

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-27/coronavirus-lingers-in-air-of-crowded-spaces-new-study-finds

Air filtration and COVID-19: Indoor air quality expert explains how to keep you and your building safe

https://news.engineering.utoronto.ca/air-filtration-and-covid-19-indoor-air-quality-expert-explains-how-to-keep-you-and-your-building-safe/

Cleaning Your Home For Coronavirus?  Don’t Forget Your Indoor Air.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/cleaning-home-coronavirus-indoor-air_l_5e85f6f5c5b60bbd73508697

A recent Harvard study concluded that exposure to air pollution had a direct effect on the death rate of COVID-19 patients.  It appears that long-term exposure to airborne dust and particulate can lead to a large increase in the COVID-19 death rate.  Air pollution indoors can have a serious effect on our respiratory system as well as make us immunocompromised.  Your air quality is now more important than ever.

https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/covid-pm

How can you improve your indoor air quality and help prevent viral spread in your home?

Here are 3 easy ways to protect your family and improve your indoor air quality.

1. Ventilation – Prevent Stale Air 

Poor ventilation or stale air can cause a lack of air exchange or air flow indoors.  This can cause a build-up of indoor pollutants, dust, allergens as well as coronavirus that may be trapped or in contact with airborne dust or airborne moisture droplets.  The more ventilation or air exchange indoors, the better.  Your home should have as much outdoor air passing through your indoor environment as possible to flush out any airborne pollutants.  This concept applies to both residential as well as workplaces.  An HRV or ERV is the first step in achieving proper ventilation in your home.

2. Air Filtration and Air Purification – Remove the threat

Indoor spaces like your home need proper air filtration systems to capture and remove airborne pollutants and viruses.  A build-up or elevation of airborne pollutants can on their own lead to respiratory and sinus infections.  During this pandemic you need to avoid a compromised respiratory system should you be exposed to COVID-19!

In addition to providing good respiratory health, good air filtration systems can not only reduce airborne particulate but can also filter out airborne viruses such as COVID-19.

Hospitals dealing with COVID-19 have ultra-efficient ventilation systems.  They also have extremely efficient air filtration systems to significantly reduce airborne transmission of viruses.

A proper air filtration system in your home is crucial in reducing the potential of airborne transmission of any health threat!  This includes mould, fibers, bacteria, and viruses like SARS, COVID-19, and the next pandemic that could be airborne.

A good quality pleated furnace filter on its own is not enough to properly protect your home from airborne viruses.  In most cases, a central HEPA filtration systems, as well as UV systems, are needed to remove airborne viruses.

3. Control Humidity – Air Conditioning is the key

Several studies have found that seasonal flu viruses are dependent on the humidity for its survival and community spread.  

A new study on COVID-19 found that the virus can thrive in very dry conditions (winter) but also in very damp conditions (humid summer).  The study found that too much outdoor humidity can also support viral spread.  

Our summers in Toronto and the GTA can be very humid.  If you don’t have a properly functioning air conditioning system that reduced indoor humidity in your home, you could have a higher risk of viral spread over the next few months as the weather heats up.

According to a study published in MedicalNewsToday indoor humidity should be kept between 40-60% to prevent a viral spread.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-humidity-may-affect-covid-19-outcome#4060%-humidity-may-be-ideal

Homes that do not have poorly functioning air conditioning systems may be putting their occupants at risk of Thermal Stress according to ASHRAE.  Thermal Stress can lower your body’s immune system and can lead to an increased risk of contracting illness and disease.  

So have your air conditioning systems checked and services and make sure they are ready for the Toronto hot and humid summer to protect your health this summer.  

Need a new healthy air conditioning system? Don’t delay as HVAC companies will likely be very busy this summer.

Not sure if you have a Healthy Home? Bionic Healthy Home can asses your indoor air quality filter Toronto and provide detailed steps in ventilation, air purification, and healthy air conditioning solutions to keep you and your family safe from potential viral issues indoors.

Make Sure Your Air Conditioning System is Supporting your Health and Comfort

Air conditioning systems not only keep is cool and comfortable in the summer. Properly functioning air conditioning systems also protect our health and improve indoor air quality for a healthy home.

As well are all looking forward to summer and warmer temperature, we will also be getting into air conditioning season. A properly functioning air conditioning system will be important in making sure there is no disruption of keeping your home cool.

However, air conditioning systems not only keep us cool. Properly maintained air conditioning systems also control the indoor relative humidity. AC systems provide dehumidification as a side benefit. Elevated relative humidity indoor can lead to discomfort, the feeling that it is actually warmer indoors and has now been linked to a potential indoor environmental threat and spread of COVID-19.

To Prevent Viral Spread Indoors, Relative Humidity Must Be Maintained Between 40%-60%
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-researchers-look-at-how-humidity-can-impact-virus-transmission/

So the issue becomes that viral spread indoors is greater in winter because our RH levels are usually below 40%. They can also again become and issue in the summer with proper air conditioning as outdoor humidity in Southern Ontario can reach about 70%. The answer…Air conditioning!

Poorly maintained air conditioning systems can also become a breeding ground for bacteria and mould. The cooling coils inside your air conditioning system can build up dampness through condensation, which if not regularly disinfected or cleaned can build up dust, dirt and sludge that supports allergens, bacteria and mould. If you smell odours coming out of your vents when you start up your AC system, you could have an indoor air quality threat.

Bionic Healthy Home can assess your present air quality and air conditioning system and make sure that you have a healthy air conditioning system to provide good indoor air quality and make your home a healthy home this summer. As the COVID-19 issue is likely to stay with us for several more months, preventing viral spread indoors is ever more crucial.

Bionic Healthy Home provides air purification systems including air filtration products, UV disinfection lamp systems as well as healthy air conditioning solutions.

Prevention is the Key during this Pandemic

Experts agree that the HVAC industry this summer will be very busy with people wanting to repair or replace their air conditioning systems should they fail. Past summers, not having AC just meant that you would feel hot and sweaty for a few days until your system is repaired or replaced. With COVID-19 and the need to keep the relative humidity low or below 60%, no AC calls will be more of an emergency call than ever. Don’t get caught panicking when your AC stops working. Schedule a maintenance or replacement of your AC system is it wasn’t working properly last summer.

Healthy Air Conditioning means a Healthy Home. Air Conditioning will support your health and safety this summer.