Archive for January, 2013

How Often Should I Change My Air Filters and Which Type Should I Buy?

Monday, January 28th, 2013

Changing the air filters in your heating system is an important part of maintaining the heating system in your home. It also helps improve indoor air quality. How often you change it and what type to get really depends on your heating system. Consult your owner’s manual if you aren’t sure, but most filters should be changed once a month, especially during times of heavy use. Contact The Clean Air Act for all HVAC services, including indoor air quality in Beaverton.

Some heating systems have a removable filter that you can clean instead of throwing it away. These are better for the environment and also tend to be slightly more effective, but only if you clean them often. You should check them at least once a month if not more often. If you have pets or allergies, it’s probably a good idea to check them as often as you can.

Some disposable filters are designed to last up to three months. When you buy your air filter, it should have the instructions on the package. You’ll also need to make sure you know which size and type to buy before you purchase it. Some furnaces or heat pumps will have the instructions on the door to the filter, or you can check the owner’s guide. You can also take in the old filter to the store with you so that you know exactly which type and size to get. Most air filters can be purchased at your local hardware store, but it might be a good idea to call first to make sure they have the right kind.

Call the Beaverton indoor air quality and heating specialists at The Clean Air Act if you have further questions about air filters or air cleaners.

Which type of heating system is right for your home?

Monday, January 21st, 2013

Here in Portland, having a good heating system is absolutely critical to your comfort. But which heating system is right for your home? At Clean Air Act, we’ve been providing complete Portland heating services for many years. We thought it would be helpful if we put together a quick list of some of the heating services and products that are available in the greater Portland metropolitan area. Contact Clean Air Act today!

Traditional Heating Systems: Furnaces vs. Boilers

Furnaces and boilers are two of the most popular and common heating systems in the entire country. They provide relatively cheap heating and, if your unit is less than 5 years old, it probably is fairly efficient. Whenever you need any kind of heating services, it’s always best to call a local contractor. Getting professional heating installation in Portland is the best ways to make sure that your furnace or boiler work well for many years.

Geothermal Heating and Air Conditioning Systems

For those that are interested in renewable energy, geothermal systems are a great way to heat your home using the energy that is stored in the ground. Geothermal systems use an underground loop to gather heat from the earth and heat your home. Like your central air conditioning system that moves heat from inside your home to the outside—geothermal systems work in reverse by bringing heat from the ground into your home. They can also be used to cool your home very efficiently as well.

High Velocity Systems

High velocity systems are another great option for homeowners in Portland, OR. These types of systems don’t need large, cumbersome ductwork. Instead, high velocity systems use small tubes that can fit between walls and under floorboards. They deliver high velocity heated and cooled air to each of your rooms. The high velocity of the air allows these systems to evenly distribute the air throughout your entire home.

If you have any questions about heating installation or heating repairs in Portland, contact Clean Air Act today!

Maintaining Indoor Air Quality This Heating Season

Monday, January 14th, 2013

During the winter, most of us try to keep our homes sealed up pretty tightly in order to keep as much of the heated air inside as possible. While this is a great way to improve the energy efficiency of your home in Oregon City, it can potentially cause the air quality in your home to suffer. With no ventilation, the contaminants that enter your air just get recirculated through your home. In fact, the EPA estimates that indoor air quality is one of the leading threats to respiratory health in the U.S. At Clean Air Act, we offer friendly and honest indoor air quality services in Oregon City. If you’d like to learn more about how to improve the indoor air quality in your home this winter, read below. Give us a call today if you’d like to speak with one of our indoor air quality technicians.

Clean Your Home

A great way to make sure that the air quality in your home is as good as possible is to regularly clean your home. Vacuuming and dusting are especially important as dust is one of the most common air contaminants. If you have pets, vacuuming can really help to eliminate some of the pet dander that is likely accumulating in your air.

Control Moisture

If you get dry skin during the winter, using a humidifier is a terrific way to add some more moisture to the air. The winter is notoriously dry which can lead to itchy and irritated skin. Make sure that areas that typically collect moisture, like your bathroom or the basement, are able to dry out so that you don’t get mold infestations. If you use a humidifier, always use fresh water and regularly clean it.

Increase Ventilation

Another good way to improve the air quality in your home is to properly ventilate it. Opening windows is a great way to let in fresh air—as long as the temperature permits it. You can also turn on attic, kitchen and bathroom fans to get more fresh air into your home.

Consider a Whole Home Air Quality Control System

Perhaps the best way to make sure that the air in your home is clean is to invest in a home air filtration and purification system. There are many different types and brands of air filtration systems available on the market. Some of them just sit in your room filter the air while other more effective models are actually installed in your ducts and air handler to filter the air as it passes through.

If you’re concerned about the air quality in your home, contact Clean Air Act today. If you or one of your family members has a sensitivity to a particular contaminants or if they suffer from asthma or allergies, a whole home are filtration system could potentially make them more comfortable. If you’d like to talk with one of the professional Oregon City air quality technicians at Clean Air Act, just call us today.

Why Choose a Whole Home Dehumidifier?

Monday, January 7th, 2013

If you want to be truly comfortable in your Portland home you must do more than just maintain comfortable temperature levels. You must also do all that you can to improve and maintain the quality of the air that you breathe. A big mistake that many homeowners make when it comes to the indoor air quality in their homes is to convince themselves that a certain problem with their air quality is too minor or unimportant to do anything about. Other times they simply choose the wrong tool for the job. At The Clean Air Act we want to help you make your home a more comfortable, safer place to live.

Excessively moist air is one great example of a serious problem that many homeowners do not handle in the most effective way possible. A lot of homeowners will purchase a standalone, single room dehumidifier in order to resolve the humidity problem in their homes. A whole home dehumidifier, though, is a much better solution for your humidity problems.

Excess moisture in the air that you breathe is a more serious issue than many people realize. Yes, it does lead to stuffy, uncomfortable air. Overly humid air can also cause wood rot, though, as well as promote the growth of biological pollutants such as mold.

There is simply no way for a single room dehumidifier to remove enough moisture from your home to eliminate these risks if you have too much humidity in the air. It may make the room that it is in more comfortable, but chances are that if one room’s air is too damp there are other points in your home that suffer from the same issue.

A whole home dehumidifier is installed directly into your home heating and cooling system. That means that you do not need to have multiple dehumidifiers littering your home. Not only are whole home dehumidifiers much more convenient than single room devices, they are much more effective.

If you are concerned about humidity levels in your Portland home, contact the indoor air quality experts at The Clean Air act. Our whole home dehumidification systems and services can help you breathe better, higher quality air. Contact The Clean Air Act to schedule service today.