5 Tips to Enhance Air Quality this Fall

With the cold weather here, our windows are closed and the furnaces are working hard to keep us warm. Both fall and winter can be tough times for indoor air quality. Reduced air circulation inside our home traps dust, allergens, mildew, toxins or other bacteria in the air, causing your home to have poor indoor air quality. It’s important to tackle these air quality problems head on.

If you would like to improve your home’s indoor air quality this season, here are a few tips to help solve the air quality problems in your home!

Purify Your Air: New technology has made it easier for pollutants and contaminants to be removed from the air. For example, Blue Flame Heating & Air Conditioning LLC offers AccuClean™ Air Cleaners and Whole-Home Filtration Systems that remove up to 99.98% of the allergens in your home. This means you can breath easier and safer without any extra hassle.

Clean Regularly: Dust and toxins can accumulate in your home. It’s important to vacuum, dust and clean regularly to reduce the build up of allergens in your home. There are also products available that can help keep your air fresher and cleaner for longer.

Open Up: One of the best ways to improve indoor air quality is with circulation of fresh air. The weather might be cooling down but it’s a good idea to open your windows or doors to let in fresh air.

Change Air Filters: When is the last time you replaced your air filter? Air filters should be checked and cleaned every 3 months and changed anywhere from 6 months to a year.

Clean Ducts: Have you cleaned your ducts lately? Over the years, air ducts can become contaminated with dust, mold, particles and even debris. Cleaning ductwork can be easily done with a vacuum or brush. Additionally, you can hire a professional to get the cleaning done properly.

At Blue Flame Heating & Air Conditioning LLC, we know the importance of indoor air quality. Our technicians can help you take the necessary steps to reduce pollutants and ensure your home or office has good, clean air circulating. If you need help cleaning your ductwork or would like to install an air purifier, contact Blue Flame Heating & Air Conditioning today!

Springtime and Indoor Allergens

Almost everyone is happy when spring comes around, but there is one unfortunate drawback to the warmer weather... allergies. Seasonal allergies affect as many as 50 million Americans, making springtime a less pleasant time of year than it really should be. Although, there's not much you can do about seasonal outdoor allergens like pollen in the air; there are solutions for indoor air pollution - an arguably bigger problem for allergy sufferers.

Since indoor air pollution levels are two to five times higher than outdoor air pollution levels and we spend a good deal of our time indoors, the air quality we breathe indoors should be of the utmost importance. Regular maintenance of your HVAC system can improve indoor air quality and reduce allergens throughout the home.

• Replace filters. Use high-quality filters or permanent HEPA filters, which remove more than 90% of microscopic particles, drastically reducing indoor allergens. For replaceable filters, consider changing them every three months. For permanent HEPA filters, clean them or have them cleaned regularly.
• Keep your HVAC unit clean. Check your outdoor AC unit and indoor unit to make sure they are free of dust and debris. If you r unit is left dusty or dirty, that debris will be sucked into the HVAC system and circulated throughout your home. Keeping your units clean will reduce allergens. 
• Check for mold. Mold is one of the most dangerous indoor pollutants that can be in your home. You should be checking your air ducts, drip pan and drain, evaporator coils, and air handler every few weeks to make sure there is no mold growth. Mold spores cause allergies and in some cases if left unchecked, they cause serious illness and even death.
• Dust regularly. When dusting your home, you should dust your air registers and return vents first. If your registers and vents are dusty, then they will circulate dust to the rest of your home. And cleaning them with a damp cloth instead of a feather-duster will pick up the dust rather than just redistributing it elsewhere.
• Schedule HVAC maintenance. Spring is a great time to schedule an HVAC maintenance appointment. Regular professional maintenance is important to keep your system healthy and free of dust and blockage.

If you're due for new filters or maintenance on your HVAC system, choose Blue Flame Heating & Air Conditioning LLC! We know the importance of indoor air quality for you and your family. We also recommend the Air Scrubber Plus purification system for your home. Air Scrubber Plus offers the only environmental technology that is proven to actually reduce contaminants in the air and surfaces of the home. The difference in air quality is noticeable; the air is fresher and the surfaces are cleaner, with an up to 99% reduction in contaminants on surfaces like kitchen sinks, keyboards, and doorknobs. Dust, allergens, mildew and odor-causing bacteria are proven to be significantly reduced from the indoor environment with Air Scrubber Plus, which is available through Blue Flame Heating & Air Conditioning LLC! With our help, allergy sufferers will be able to breathe easier this spring.

Home Automation Systems

Often called "smart homes", home automation systems were once only found in larger commercial buildings and expensive homes. Nowadays, anyone can have a "smart home"!

Smart homes provide their owners with convenience, comfort, security, and energy efficiency. But what are they, exactly? Home automation describes homes in which nearly everything - lights, appliances, outlets, plugged-in electronics, heating & cooling systems - are hooked up to a remote network, usually controlled by smartphone. From a home security perspective, this also includes your alarm system, and all of the doors, windows, locks, smoke detectors, surveillance cameras and any other sensors that are linked to it.

There are two main characteristics of home automation systems:

• Automation - this refers to the ability to program and schedule events for all the devices hooked up to your "smart home" network. The programming may include time-related commands like having your lights turn on or off at specific times each day. It also includes non-scheduled events, such as turning on all the lights in your home when your security system alarm is triggered.
• Remote Control - thanks to the rise in smartphones, tablets, cellular data and Wi-Fi, we can now readily connect to our home networks while we're away. With monitoring apps on your smartphone, you can check your security system's status, whether any lights were left on, if the doors are all locked, and your home's current temperature all while you're out and about, and make changes remotely if needed. In addition to monitoring these systems while away, you can also program your home automation system to send text alerts straight to your phone in the event of a problem.

At Blue Flame Heating & Air Conditioning, we used Nexia home automation systems. Nexia operates on Z-Wave technology, one of the most widely adopted smart home platforms that allows Nexia to work with some of the world's most trusted brands, including GE, Honeywell, and Schlage - to name a few. That means you're free to build your smart home with the brands you know and love! There are so many benefits to having a Nexia home automation system installed in your home. Give Blue Flame Heating & Air Conditioning a call at 509-536-0186 to learn more about home to turn your home into a Smart Home!

Why You Should Care About Indoor Air

We learned about it in school, we hear about it on the news: pollution. Most of the time, the topic is outdoor air pollution, like greenhouse gas emissions and big-city smog. But did you know that in most cases, indoor air is two to five times more polluted than outdoor air? Our quest to conserve energy indoors by sealing up every nook and cranny in our homes and office restricts fresh airflow, causing pollutants to become trapped indoors. Poor air quality where you spend the majority of your time can have serious complications. It can lead to headaches, fatigue, allergies, and worse.

Indoor pollution is a problem in all types of homes, regardless of size, inhabitants, or location. Common indoor pollutants are:

• Combustion sources: gas, oil, kerosene, fireplaces, tobacco smoke
• Building materials: insulation, carpet, cabinetry, and other pressed wood products
• Chemical products: cleaning products, personal care products, glues & pastes
• Outdoor sources: radon, pesticides, pollen, outdoor air pollution
• Other: pet dander, dust mites, mold, viruses

So what can you do? Ideally you’ll want to keep pollutants out in the first place. Have your HVAC system checked out by a licensed contractor to ensure it’s in good working condition. At Blue Flame Heating & Air Conditioning, we are experts in air quality. We can look at your current HVAC system and/or install a new HVAC system that ensures optimum indoor air quality. We offer installation and service of air filtration systems, which is a great way to improve air quality in your home or office. Since you and your family spend about 90% of your time indoors, be sure you’re in the purest, safest environment possible.

Call Blue Flame Heating & Air Conditioning at 509-536-0186 to see what we can do to improve your indoor air quality!