Before the development of optimal indoor heating systems, people had to rely on opening their windows to let in some warm air. This allowed for proper ventilation. However, with newer heating systems, it has become a necessity to keep windows and doors shut in order to ensure that the heating system functions with maximum efficiency.

Though heating efficiency may have improved, the drawback with such systems is that the indoor air quality drops. Poor indoor quality can lead to a range of medical conditions and allergies.

How Does Forced Air Heating Cause This

Indoor air quality is, generally, worse than the polluted air outside. This is because we bring in all the pollutants inside and don’t let them out. Pollutants can attach themselves to our clothes, bodies, pets, and footwear. That’s how they get in.

Forced air heating makes this worse because the entire system is designed to circulate the same air. The system takes in the polluted indoor air, heats it, and blows it out into the home again. To put it simply, a cycle is created, where the pollutants are circulated inside the house again and again.

Solutions

There are a few solutions to overcome this issue. You can hire an HVAC servicing company to conduct air quality checks regularly. They can help identify the pollutants and offer suggestions on how to clean up the indoor air.

One way to clean up the indoor air is by allowing natural ventilation. Natural ventilation helps reduce the pollutants inside and boosts the indoor air quality. This is allowed by simply opening windows and doors to let in fresh air and send out the polluted indoor air.

However, this may not be possible where the winters are too cold. In that case, an air cleaner can be considered. The market is filled with all kinds of air cleaners, offering a wide ranging of working capacities. Find one that is effective at removing pollutants.

You can also use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter to eliminate dust, pet hair, and debris. Vacuuming must be done once at least a week for the indoor air to be kept clean.