A/C Designs of St. Augustine, LLC Blog: Archive for May, 2021

Tips to Improve Air Quality & Make Indoor Air Safer to Breathe

Monday, May 24th, 2021

Your home’s indoor air quality can affect your health, especially if you have asthma or other respiratory conditions. Taking steps to improve air quality means you’ll have safer and cleaner air to breathe. Keeping these important tips to improve air quality in mind will help you make a healthier home.

Keep Your Home Clean

Making sure your home is clean on a regular basis is an effective way to improve your indoor air quality. You should vacuum all of the carpeting and rugs in your home once or twice a week to remove dust and other debris. Cleaning your bedding, curtains, and other fabrics throughout your home also helps cut down on the amount of dust and other debris that get into the air.

You can help reduce dust and other debris in your home by using dust mite-proof covers on all of your mattresses, box springs, and pillows. While you should be washing these regularly, these special covers also help keep them clean in between washes. Getting rid of trash and clutter in your home is another way to limit the amount of dust, allergens, pollutants, and other harmful particles that get into the air.

Change Your Filters

The air filters your HVAC system uses can have a big impact on the quality of your indoor air. These filters should be as clean as possible in order to cut down on indoor air pollution. Otherwise, pollutants and other particles can get into your air when your air conditioning or heating is running.

Consider using HEPA filters rather than regular air filters; HEPA filters are able to catch dust, pollen, other allergens, smoke, and other particles more effectively. Look for an air filter with a higher minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) rating. These filters can remove tiny pollen and dust particles from your air.

You should use a filter replacement every three months, or sooner if needed. You should also change the filters in your vacuum cleaner and other appliances on a regular basis.

Control Humidity Indoors

Having the right amount of indoor humidity is an important part of keeping the air clean. Too much humidity, especially in bathrooms and other moist areas, allows mildew and mold to grow. These can lead to significant health issues like respiratory problems.

Because the summer months can make your home even hotter and more humid, you should take steps to lower your indoor humidity. Using a dehumidifier can help with this issue. Dehumidifiers are able to eliminate excess moisture in the air, which helps reduce the risk of mold. Having a lower humidity level during summer also keeps your home feeling more comfortable overall.

Following these tips means you can enjoy having healthier and cleaner air inside your home. Getting air purifiers and measuring indoor air quality from time to time can also help. Contact the indoor air quality experts at A/C Designs to schedule an appointment if you need additional help.

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How to Prepare Your A/C Unit for Summer

Monday, May 17th, 2021

With temperatures heating up, this is a good time to make sure your air conditioning unit is ready. This helps ensure that your home feels comfortable and cool no matter how hot it is outside. Keep these HVAC tips in mind to prepare your A/C unit for a hot Florida summer.

Cleaning the Indoor Unit

Central air conditioning unit cleaning includes preparing the indoor and outdoor unit. To get your indoor unit ready, you should change the air filters. These filters get covered in debris and dust over time, which can cause your air conditioning to run less efficiently. Clean air filters improve the unit’s efficiency and indoor air quality.

Consider upgrading your thermostat to a programmable one this summer. Programmable thermostats allow you to program settings that reduce how much air conditioning your home uses at certain times, such as when you’re out of the house. Other cleaning tasks for your indoor unit include checking your ductwork for air leaks and cleaning the condensation lines.

Cleaning the Outdoor Unit

When you’re getting ready to prepare your A/C unit for summer, you’ll need to clean your outdoor unit. Air conditioner cleaning on this unit helps ensure that your HVAC system works properly throughout the season. You should clean the coils on this unit since they can become coated in mud, dust, and other kinds of debris. If the coils are slightly dirty, shut off the power to the outdoor unit and spray it down using a garden hose.

Cleaning the outdoor unit also involves wiping down the fins using a soft toothbrush. This helps remove debris from these fins. Other tasks to do when preparing your A/C unit include making sure the concrete slab it sits on is even. You can use a level to even it out if needed.

You should also get rid of any weeds, branches, twigs, and other debris that is around your outdoor unit. This kind of debris can blow airflow through your outdoor A/C unit.

Scheduling Annual Maintenance

Having annual preventative maintenance done on your HVAC system helps ensure that it’s able to run at maximum efficiency throughout the year. These appointments allow HVAC technicians to check the components of your HVAC system to make sure they’re in good condition.

These technicians can also inspect parts of your HVAC system that you might not be able to check or clean on your own. If your A/C has any problems, HVAC technicians can find them early during maintenance visits and make repairs when needed. This helps lower the risk of having your air conditioning stop working during summer or develop major problems that require emergency repairs.

Putting these HVAC cleaning tips to use is a great way to keep your energy bills lower while still having a cool home all summer long. Routine maintenance is also an important part of preparing your HVAC system for summer. Please contact the experts at A/C Designs today to schedule an HVAC maintenance appointment.

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