How to Improve Indoor Air Quality for Winter

January 15, 2026

p>Winter tends to be the season that keeps people indoors the most. With all that time inside, people suffer from the effects of stale air. That might not seem like a big deal, but poor indoor air quality (IAQ) during the winter can promote problems ranging from dry skin to respiratory diseases. It is important to know why these issues appear and how to improve indoor air quality over the winter. What Makes Indoor Air Quality Bad During the Winter? As winter sets in and temperatures drop, people tend to close their houses up to improve efficiency. With few open windows and generally less ventilation, your house undergoes fewer exchanges of fresh air with the outdoors. From an efficiency perspective, this is a good thing because it minimizes heating energy losses. However, it also traps lots of contaminants indoors. There are many potential irritants inside your home, too. Building materials like wood emit volatile organic compounds. Similar chemicals leach from carpeting, furniture, and even many cooking implements. There are also plenty of biological irritants that accumulate during the winter. Dust mites, pet dander, and mold all accumulate more as there are fewer air exchanges. Viruses and bacteria build up indoors,...

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5 Ways to Reduce Allergy Symptoms With Your HVAC System

May 20, 2022

Indoor air may contain contaminants like mold spores, pet dander, or pollen. They may trigger uncomfortable allergic symptoms like runny nose, itchy eyes, wheezing, or itching when you breathe them in. You may have tried different solutions to alleviate your symptoms, including keeping your doors and windows open, to no avail. Your HVAC can help you alleviate or eliminate allergens in your home or business. Heating and cooling systems filter out the pollutants and lower the density of allergens. But if not well maintained, it can blow back the contaminants into the house lowering the indoor air quality. Here are different ways how your HVAC unit can help reduce allergy symptoms. 1. Replace Air Filters Your HVAC unit uses air filters to clean the air getting into your premises. These air filters don’t allow any pollen to enter your house. They also help to clean the indoor air by filtering out contaminants such as mold, dust mites, and pet dander. However, if you neglect air filters for several months, they could become clogged, making them inefficient. Make sure you replace air filters after one to three months. If you have pets at home, do a monthly replacement and use the...

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Are All Air Filters Created Equal?

October 10, 2020

At , we work hard to keep our San Antonio customers comfortable throughout the year. You may know us for our comprehensive heating and cooling services. In recent years, we have expanded our services to include solutions that improve your indoor air quality. For example, our residential duct cleaning service will remove impurities that are hiding in your home. While we can install serious equipment like UV air sanitizers and dehumidifiers, choosing the right filter for your home comfort systems can have a big impact on the air you breathe. Common Indoor Allergens Every homeowner deals with dust. The household dust that you can see floating in a sunbeam contains impurities like fibers, outdoor dirt, and pet dander. Every time someone walks through a room, it stirs up the dust and sends particles back into the air. Although this visible dust is unsightly, your body’s natural filtration system prevents much of it from getting into your lungs. Mixed in with the visible dust are much smaller impurities. At the next size level, you will find mold spores and pollen grains. Contact with these particles can cause an allergic reaction in sensitive people. They may develop allergy symptoms like a runny...

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Understanding Balanced Ventilation

October 2, 2019

is proud to serve San Antonio and the neighboring communities. Evaluating and optimizing home ventilation is an important part of what we do. After all, the EPA warns that poor indoor air quality is among the most serious health risks Americans face. Balanced ventilation is an approach to ensure that the air inside a house is never more polluted than the air outside it. Airflow Within a Home You have two primary types of ventilation within a home: natural and mechanical. When you open a window to let in fresh air, that is an example of natural ventilation. Modern houses are well-sealed, so they tend to get little natural ventilation when the heating or cooling systems are running. Mechanical ventilation is achieved through intakes, ductwork, and exhausts. Traditional Ventilation The traditional ventilation used in homes is supply ventilation. Air enters the house through a passive duct, which means the intake occurs as it is needed. In a central system, conditioned air is moved through the home using ductwork. A passive duct replenishes the air as the pressure drops. Balanced Ventilation Balanced ventilation is a newer approach, and the traditional ventilation discussed above is sometimes called unbalanced ventilation. In a balanced...

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3 Signs of Poor Indoor Air Quality

September 12, 2019

How to Know Your Home Has Poor Indoor Air Quality in San Antonio is aware that it’s difficult to properly ventilate your home, especially in the winter. Different types of pollutants can build up in the air in your house, causing a variety of health issues. Keeping indoor air as clean as possible is important. There are a few signs that you can look for that indicate you have an air quality issue in your home. 1. Health Changes Poor air quality could cause your health to deteriorate. If you’ve been sneezing or coughing more often than normal, the air in your home might be the cause. Particulates, including bacteria, viruses, dust mites, and pollen, can impact your lungs, spread disease, and affect your health. Chemical vapors from paints or cleaning products can also circulate around a house if it’s not properly filtered and ventilated. 2. Moisture Buildup Having high humidity in your home can lead to a variety of air quality issues. Excess humidity can allow mold to grow, and the spores can become airborne and create problems. If you see condensation on the inside of your windows, you might need to consider getting a dehumidifier for your house....

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3 Easy Ways to Controlling Static Electricity at Home

May 22, 2019

It can be a little shocking, literally, when static electricity starts to build up at your home. In addition to giving you small jolts when you touch certain items or other people, static can also cause clothes to stick together and hair to stick straight up. Fortunately, there are some ways in which this issue can be addressed. 1. Add Moisture Dry air and static electricity can sometimes go hand in hand. To improve things at home, consider putting in a whole-home humidifier. Many modern units are relatively efficient and quiet to run. They can be purchased to be an independent appliance or hooked up to your existing HVAC system. At , we work with many clients in the Greater San Antonio area who are interested in improving comfort conditions at home, and we always individualize our recommendations based on our assessments. 2. Add House Plants While a whole-home humidifier should be able to handle things, some people in smaller places may want to take a different approach. In this case, we’d recommend adding plants to your home. Plants release a lot of moisture, so they can do the same job as a humidifier but just on a smaller scale....

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