Air conditioners are easy to take for granted. But now that parts of the country are increasingly experiencing record-shattering heat waves, they can literally be a life-saver. Cooling power aside, air conditioners can also have some surprisingly negative effects on the air quality inside your home. Read on for a full explanation of why this is the case and what you can do to decrease harmful indoor air pollution from air conditioners.
We are now well into the second summer of COVID-19 and viral transmission is still at the forefront of many people’s minds. Though travel has picked up since this time last year, the unfolding threat of the Delta Variant means that the pandemic is far from gone. All of this uncertainty can throw a wrench into your travel plans, and makes finding the right balance between caution and a sense of normalcy all the more difficult.
During the 2020-2021 school year, most school districts, parents, and students agreed that in-person learning was too risky due the Covid-19 pandemic, thus classes were held online at home via a video link. Now, with the fall 2021 semester fast approaching, the resurgent Delta variant has experts analyzing the available data and giving recommendations on how to proceed with the new school year.
Your home is a space that should allow you to control the influence of outdoor temperatures, precipitation, and pollution. However, sealing your home from the outdoors can also trap pollutants indoors, in some cases allowing air pollution to build up to unhealthy levels. A wide range of substances can affect the air quality in your home, including particulate matter, toxic gases, viruses and bacteria.
The smells we associate with newness and cleanliness — a fresh coat of paint, a new car, lemon-scented disinfectant — are not as harmless as they may seem. These odors are caused by the release of gases called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and they come from more sources than you might expect. When these gases build up in indoor air, some of them can contribute to a wide range of health problems.
Air purifiers, on the surface, may seem deceptively simple — dirty air is drawn in through a vent and clean air is blown out. But the quality and technology of the mechanisms and filters inside these machines can make all the difference in determining just how effective they are at cleaning indoor air.
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are made up of different components that all work together to keep your home at a specific temperature. Some of these components are easily visible, while others may be hidden in walls, ceilings, attics or outdoors. HVAC systems contain many different parts — here are the main ones you should know about:
Each year, Air Quality Awareness Week is a joint effort by the Environmental Health Agency (EPA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) to educate the public about the growing problem of air pollution.