Winterizing your House

 As the winter months approach, it truly is time to turn our consideration to what we are able to do to insure the safe operation of our heating appliances at the same time as look at different ways to assist conservation of power. Here are a handful of ideas which can insure a secure, warm and efficient winter season in your house.

1. Seal gaps and cracks around windows and doors with weather stripping and caulk. Even the tiniest of leaks can add as a great deal as much as 10% to your heating bill.

2. Cleaning your gutters is really a chore no one looks forward to, but an excessive buildup of leaves & other debris may cause water to seep back into your home, resulting in unwanted water damage. As the winter season approaches, it's a excellent time to inspect and clean your gutters to insure their optimum performance through the wet, cold winter months.

3. Have your furnace inspected by an HVAC  professional to insure it can function properly when required, and don't foget to replace the filter. A dirty filter will cut down on the overall effectiveness of your HVAC system.

4. Check your fireplace to insure it is going to operate safely and correctly - this might include things like contacting a chimney sweep if it has not been cleaned recently.

5. Be sure to test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors throughout your whole house. If you don't have detectors currently, it is highly recommended that you get them installed. Check the batteries with a battery tester  to ensure they have most of their life left and and replace them if they are not good.

6. Drain outdoor hoses, faucets and sprinkler systems to help reduce the risk of pipes bursting. For those who have unprotected pipes in your attic, it is a excellent time to wrap them to help prevent a rupture of these pipes.

7. Look into a programmable thermostat. Current models let you to set your heat to allow the house to become warm while awake in the daytime and allow for reduce temperatures when you are asleep or away from the house in the daytime.

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Major Source of Airborne Bacteria: You.

Air Quality News from IQAir, the world leader in air purifiers.

Bacteria in your air. The source: You.

New research suggests that one of the leading sources of air pollution in your home is probably … you. In fact, your presence in a room can add millions of bacteria to the air every hour, according to a new study conducted by Yale University and the University of California, Berkeley. The research was conducted in a classroom setting while the room was both occupied and unoccupied. The researchers concluded that most, but not all, of the bacteria and other contaminants in the air were already in the room and were stirred up when humans entered the environment. “Mostly people are re-suspending what’s been deposited before,” one of the team told Yale News. Most of the stirred-up airborne microbial stewcame from the floor, he said.

That conclusion suggests that your indoor carpet actually functions as an air purifier, at least so long as nobody in the room stirs thing up (by, say, walking or moving). As ineffective as that might seem, it’s similar to how ionizing air purifiers actually work by charging particles that then stick to surfaces in your home. Sooner of later those particles (which your ionizer caused to cling to the wall or carpet) relaunch into the air. Then, they wind up sticking to your lungs.

In the Yale study, the principal investigator noted that carpeted rooms in particular retain high levels of microorganisms from the air. If you suffer from asthma, you may already know this. Carpeting can be a haven for pet dander, pollen and other allergens. A high-quality HEPA vacuum can help, as can frequent steam cleaning of carpets. But vacuuming carpets, even with a HEPA vacuum cleaner, can also disturb particles and cause them to become airborne, the American Lung Association points out. So do you have to get rid of the carpets in your home?  “Replacing carpet with hard flooring may be a good idea,” concludes Mayo clinic asthma and allergy expert Dr. James Li (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/asthma-triggers/AN01948), Of course, as Li and others note, the hard flooring you install may itself be a source of another indoor air quality hazard: volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

The researchers in the Yale/UC Berkeley study also found that about 20 percent of all of the bacteria and fungi launched into air by humans is of human origin, as opposed to coming from plants or other sources. The average human emission: about 37 million bacteria per hour.

This online publication is brought to you by IQAir North America, Inc., based in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. IQAir North America is a member of the Swiss-based IQAir Group that develops, manufactures and markets innovative air purifiers and air quality products for indoor environments around the globe. IQAir is the exclusive educational partner of the American Lung Association for the air purifier industry.

If you live in any of our service areas and would like to learn more about IQ Air Air Purifiers please visit Sandium.Com