Improve Air Quality & Survive Your Next Home Renovation
Deciding to renovate your home is often one of the best things you can do to simultaneously improve the condition of your residence to enjoy more years of living there, or improve the property value if you’re thinking of selling.
Anything you do that improves the condition of your home has multiple benefits, and the more extensive those changes are, the more your home’s condition and investment values improve.
But if you’re going to be renovating your home, there’s one thing that is often forgotten during the planning and budgeting, and that’s air quality. If you want to make sure that you don’t compromise on air quality while you’re renovating your home, we’ve got some great tips for you!
Leave Asbestos to the Professionals
Probably our single, biggest, most important piece of advice. If you only follow one of our tips, MAKE SURE IT IS THIS ONE.
Depending on the age of your home, you may still have asbestos in the walls, or other parts of the construction. Asbestos was once generously used in buildings because of its flame proof properties.
Today, unfortunately, we now know it is carcinogenic, that is to say, it causes cancer. If it is left undisturbed in the walls of a home, it is harmless.
However, once construction begins and things are torn open, asbestos entering the air as dust can be a major hazard to everyone.
Do not attempt to remove this yourself; there are qualified, highly trained professionals that can do this for you.
Treat Old Paint Carefully
This again applies to older homes. If a residence or commercial building hasn’t been renovated in quite some time, the paint used in the building may be a problem.
It’s safe to assume that any building with paint in it that predates 1978 probably has lead within the paint. This means that if you want to remove that paint, there’s a chance that you will be introducing lead dust into the air.
Lead dust, once again, presents a health hazard to those that breathe it in, but the undeveloped lungs of children are especially vulnerable to contamination from breathing lead. If you’re going to renovate in these older homes, make sure you take appropriate measure to prevent dangerous exposure.
Change the Filter on Your HVAC
If you’ve been running your HVAC system during renovations, that means that the filter in your furnace has probably been working overtime.
Even though we normally advise people to change filters with every seasonal change—that is to say, every three months—if you’ve done anything in your home that kicks up a lot of dust, like tearing down walls, and doing major renovations, you’ve probably put your filter through its paces.
Play it safe. Take out a fresh filter and put it in your furnace. This also prevents your HVAC system from working harder than it needs to pump air throughout the home, so it will keep your utility bills low.
We Can Take It Further
Atlantic Heating & Air Conditioning has been helping homes and business in Brookline, MA since 1962. If you’re looking for a repair to your HVAC system, want to upgrade to something more efficient, or even just want an energy efficiency evaluation, we can help! Our tips and our professional attention can make a difference.
