Belchertown, MA has beautiful scenery throughout the fall, but leaf mold and seasonal allergens can cause problems with indoor air quality. Combine these issues with poor ventilation and other indoor contaminants, and you have an even bigger concern. We often spend more time indoors in the fall because of chilly temperatures. Fortunately, there are ways to keep your indoor air quality safe and healthy through the fall and beyond.
Leaf Mold Spores
A common air quality issue for households in Massachusetts during the fall is leaf mold. This issue is typical when damp conditions after rainfall lead to decaying leaves. Unfortunately, raking can stir spores into the air. Even with regular yard cleanup, leaf mold can make its way into your home on shoes, pet paws, and through open windows. If you breathe in leaf mold, you might notice worsening allergies or asthma symptoms.
Ragweed and Late-Season Pollen
Although pollen is often associated with springtime, ragweed may be a problem in Massachusetts in the autumn. It travels great distances and lands on people’s clothes and automobiles, and it even comes into your house. Ragweed pollen can trigger sneezing, itchy eyes, and congestion well into October and November. Indoor air quality declines sharply when pollen combines with other household contaminants and outdoor pollutants.
Dust Buildup
Over the summer, heating equipment collects dust that circulates throughout your home when turned on in the fall. You might experience sneezing or congestion as the particles spread indoors. Dust can increase the likelihood of dust mites, which also cause allergy symptoms for many people.
Poor Ventilation
Many homeowners close windows and doors during the fall when the cooler temperatures arrive. This is great for energy savings, but it can also limit airflow and trap pollutants inside. Mix the lack of ventilation with fumes from cooking and cleaning, and you worsen indoor air quality. Plus, the limited airflow can lead to dust buildup by increasing particle concentration. The result is stale, polluted indoor air that can cause headaches, fatigue, and other symptoms.
Moisture and Dampness
There tend to be many rainy, damp days in Massachusetts during the fall. Humidity can seep into basements, attics, and crawlspaces, creating ideal conditions for mold growth. In fact, any time indoor relative humidity exceeds 50%, there’s a much greater chance of mold and mildew. Both issues cause air quality problems. Older homes without proper ventilation often experience poor air circulation. Without intervention, excess moisture and dampness can lead to drywall and wood damage.
Pet Dander
Once the cooler weather rolls around, pets often spend more time indoors. While this is wonderful for creating fun family memories with your favorite furry friends, it can also compromise indoor air quality. Staying inside longer means your pets have a greater chance of shedding and leaving dander on your carpet, furniture, and bedding. Since you probably won’t have windows open, this can trap allergens inside.
Smoke Particles
A lot of homes have fireplaces or wood stoves. These features help keep you warm as you gather during the fall, but they also produce a lot of fumes and smoke particles. If all the particulate matter produced doesn’t get properly vented, it will hurt the home’s indoor air quality. Smoke from leaves being burned outdoors can also drift into a home and impact air quality.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Fall is a great time to tackle indoor home improvement projects, like painting or refinishing furniture. Many types of construction and cleaning produce volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which hurt air quality. VOCs from paints, solvents, cleaning products, and new carpet are especially hazardous for children, pets, and older adults. Long-term exposure to these toxins may lead to serious health concerns, like breathing difficulties.
Ways to Combat Poor Indoor Air Quality During the Fall
There is good news. With the right strategic approach, you can make sure the home has healthy air quality in the fall and year-round.
Schedule Regular HVAC Maintenance
Make it a point to book heating system maintenance each year, preferably during late summer or early fall. This ensures your system is ready to perform at peak performance all fall and winter. If you wait until mid-season, you run the risk of scheduling difficulties or equipment failure.
We’ll perform many tasks during routine service. The process usually takes a few hours. Wiping down coils, blower components, and other interior parts get rid of dirt and dust buildup that hurts air quality. It also helps the system perform more efficiently, meaning lower energy costs and longer-lasting parts. Lubricating all the moving parts further adds to the system’s reliability to assist with smooth and reliable operation.
If you have an HVAC zoning setup, we’ll check and calibrate the dampers during HVAC maintenance. You’ll be able to rest easily knowing every zone has adequate airflow and is circulating healthy air.
Use High-Efficiency Air Filters
Using a high-efficiency air filter helps with air quality by trapping smaller particles and reducing allergens. However, you must make sure your system is compatible. If you use a restrictive filter on an incompatible setup, you can end up making air quality worse. This mistake also translates into extreme wear that hurts the system’s energy use.
Here are some of the different high-efficiency air filter options that are available. We can help you decide which type is best for your heating setup:
- Pleated filters
- Fiberglass filters
- Electrostatic filters
- Activated carbon filters
Run Air Purifiers in Key Rooms
If certain rooms tend to have worse air quality than others, you can use air purifiers in those spaces. Portable options are ideal when the goal is to target specific problem areas, like bedrooms and offices. However, there are whole-home air purification options, including HEPA filtration systems and UV light purifiers. Whole-house models give the greatest coverage because of their ability to clean the air throughout every room as your heating and cooling equipment functions. One of our professionals can walk you through the process of selecting a whole-home air purifier.
Whole-home air purification helps improve indoor air quality in the fall in many ways. You can tailor your purification needs based on your specific allergies and symptoms.
- Removes ragweed and leaf mold
- Reduces smoke particulates
- Protects HVAC systems from dust accumulation
- Minimizes pet dander
- Filters pollutants
Control Indoor Humidity Levels
You should also consider the relative humidity in your home. During late fall, it’s usually cold and dry in Massachusetts. These conditions irritate your sinuses and skin and dry out wood surfaces. With a whole-home humidifier, you won’t have to deal with portable units to add moisture. The system will automatically run each time the humidity drops, giving you an easy way to maintain comfort.
Pioneer Valley Environmental offers air quality, plumbing, and AC and heating services with expert care. Many homeowners in Belchertown rely on us for annual heater tune-ups and HVAC repairs. Our installation support leads to better air quality by ensuring efficient operation and proper ventilation. Achieve better air quality this fall by contacting Pioneer Valley Environmental in Belchertown today.
