Winter means holidays, family, snow angels, and sledding. Unfortunately, it also means coughing, sneezing, colds, and the flu. While you can’t always prevent your family from getting sick, you can reduce the chances of illness by keeping a healthy home this winter. Since Annapolis, Maryland, generally gets very cold, take these precautions to promote a healthy living space for your friends and family this winter.
Change Your Air Filters
Make it a priority to change or clean your filters regularly. If your air filter gets clogged, it reduces the efficiency of your HVAC system, but even worse, it can allow dust and dirt into the air that circulates throughout your home. Have your HVAC system serviced and ask the technician to teach you the proper way to change your air filters, so you can do so as often as needed during the winter. Check them regularly, and change them when they get dirty.
Test your IAQ
People are more prone to contagious illnesses because in the winter the tendency is to spend more time indoors. This makes it easier to pass on viruses and bacteria, especially through the circulating indoor air. Your indoor air can be as much as 100 times more polluted than the outdoor air.
Even if you change the air filters regularly, you can still have poor indoor air quality for other reasons. Have your IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) tested to make sure the air in your home is not contaminated. Poor indoor air quality can aggravate allergies, trigger asthma attacks, and give you and your family flu-like symptoms. Considering how often you will be inside during the colder months, don’t take any chances. Apart from testing your air, make sure you are doing your part to keep your home clean.
If you want to stay healthy this winter, head outside or open the windows when the weather is mild, so you can get some fresh air. If you are particularly concerned about the quality of the air in your home, or if there are persons with serious illnesses, consider indoor air quality products.
Emergency Kits
Hopefully nothing goes wrong this winter, but if a huge storm hits, or there is a power outage, keep an emergency kit in your home. Your kit should include heavy blankets, candles, water, first-aid supplies, and non-perishable food items. Don’t risk the health and safety of your family if there is a major issue this winter.
Keeping Your Home Clean
Since your family is going to be indoors more often, keep your home clean and free from dust, pet dander, and bacteria. Germs spread quickly throughout your home, and with the increased risk for colds and the flu, you don’t want bacteria or viruses to spread. Adopt good cleaning strategies throughout your home, and make it a goal to do these chores regularly.
Install a Carbon Monoxide Detector
Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is unfortunately too common during the heating season when we rely on gas furnaces. If you have an automatic car starter, open the garage door before you start your car. Even if you are just running inside for a minute, turn the car off because accidents happen, and you may get distracted and forget it is running. It is also important to have your furnace checked this winter to make sure there are no risks for carbon monoxide poisoning. Even after those precautions, be sure to have carbon monoxide detectors installed in your home.
Keep your family healthy and safe this winter by promoting a healthy home. It doesn’t take much to improve the conditions in your home and preventing illness this winter. Call 410-919-0110 to speak to the experts at Coastal Heating and Air Conditioning Co., Inc. or to have your HVAC system serviced. We can provide solutions to help keep you safe and comfortable this winter.
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