With winter in full swing, Peoria-area homeowners are finding themselves spending quite a bit more time indoors than they’re used to. We often spend around 90% of our days and nights inside once the temperatures begin to drop, which means we’re breathing quite a bit of indoor air.

Indoor air quality—also referred to as IAQ—may not be something that you’ve given a lot of thought to in the past, but the fact is that it can actually have a rather significant impact on both the health and safety of you and your family. Fortunately, there are a few important steps that can be taken in order to ensure that indoor air quality issues become a thing of the past—here’s how.

1. Start with Air Sealing

Chances are that if your home is more than even just a few years old, there are tiny cracks and gaps present in the building envelope. Many of these cannot even be seen with the naked eye, which means there’s no way for you to know whether or not you actually have a problem without further testing.

When issues related to cracks and gaps are found, the answer to the problem is almost always air sealing. Air sealing ensures that unwanted airflow between the inside of your home and the environment outdoors does not occur, reducing the occurrence of indoor air quality issues.

2. Maintain Your Heating System

The winter chill is occurring with reckless abandon, which is one of the main reasons why our heating systems are operating around the clock. Just like a vehicle, your heating system needs to be maintained on a regular basis in order to operate free of issues all winter long.

A dirty air filter, for example, can be all it takes to cause your heating system to start throwing dirt and debris into the air you and your family are breathing. Maintenance ensures this isn’t a problem, giving you the peace of mind you deserve.

3. Schedule a Home Energy Audit

Taking the above analogy of your HVAC system being like a car, let’s take an even larger look at your home in general. It’s loaded with complex systems, many of which need to work in tandem for energy usage to be kept low and comfort levels kept high.

Just as the best way to make sure your vehicle is safe to drive for many years is to take it to a mechanic, it’s best to call AAA Northgate One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning® to perform an energy audit on your home. An energy audit takes into consideration every element that may factor into home performance—including indoor air quality—and gives us the information we need to make recommendations for important home upgrades.

Don’t risk breathing in bad indoor air any longer—contact us today to learn more or to schedule an appointment.