Air Quality

Air Quality Service in Novato

Providing Novato and San Rafael with Everything They Need to Breathe Easier

When we say, ‘air pollution’ you probably imagine a smokestack belching out chemicals or a car exhaust spitting out dark smoke. But, according to the EPA, this picture isn’t wholly accurate. You’d have been closer to the truth if you’d imagined a suburban home surrounded by a white picket fence. You see, the air inside the average American home is actually much more polluted than the air outside.

If you’re ready to clean up your air, call Kelly Plumbing & Heating and ask about our indoor air quality (IAQ) services in the Novato area. For more information on solutions to the problem, read through this page in its entirety.

Reap the benefits of contaminant-free air. Reach out to our HVAC experts to learn more about your air quality in San Rafael or San Anselmo

The Causes of Indoor Air Pollution

You’re probably asking how these contaminants get into the air in the first place. Radioactive radon seeping in from the soil, smoke from old cigarettes, off-gassing from fire retardant materials, and cleaning product vapors are just a few causes of indoor air pollution in Novato. Dust mites, mold, viruses, pet dander, and mildew also play a part. As homes become more energy-efficient and changing lifestyles lead many of us to spend more time indoors, poor air quality has become a public health crisis.

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The Numbers for IAQ Services Make Sense

Indoor air quality is a big problem in the 21st century both here and abroad. As homes become better sealed against the elements, the importance of having clean air increases. Without you even knowing, your air duct system could be contaminated with particulates that are harmful to you and your family. Each time the HVAC system turns on, it can circulate dust, dust mites, animal dander, pollen, and bacteria throughout the air inside your home. Below are a few statistics that help drive home the seriousness of the global indoor air quality crisis:

The EPA estimates Americans spend 90% of our time indoors.
Over 7000 non-smokers die of lung cancer each year after being exposed to residual smoke particles.
A study the University of Colorado Boulder in 2019 found that routine household activities put many homes air quality on par with that of a polluted major city.
Household air pollution is responsible for an estimated 3.2 million annual deaths worldwide.
The air inside the average home can be up to 100% more polluted than the air outside.

The Benefits of Improving Your Indoor Air Quality

By selecting Kelly Plumbing & Heating to combat your air pollution problems, you and your family will reap a variety of benefits:

Better Sleep: By eliminating root causes of respiratory irritation—which can lead to snoring—our IAQ experts will help you sleep easier and wake better rested.
Cleaner Indoor Air: If you’re tired of smelling the cigarette your aunt smoked in the kitchen 20 years ago installing one of our products can help. Call us and kiss those musty odors, chemical smells, and lingering stenches goodbye.
Fewer Allergy Symptoms: Conditions like asthma and emphysema can be compounded by the presence of mold in your home’s HVAC systems. Installing a humidifier or air purifier can help remove pet dander and artificial fragrances from the air, giving you and your family relief from cold and allergy symptoms.

For many families in Novato, these benefits are more than worth the cost of installing air quality equipment. Not sure if it's in your budget? Don't worry! Quotes on humidifier and air purifier installation are complimentary.

How You May Discover You Have an Air Quality Problem

A lot of people in Novato have an air quality issue but don't realize it. They might just chalk it up to things like high pollen counts and general fatigue. But, if you regularly notice the following, it's worth getting an air quality analysis done:

Frequent runny noses or allergy symptoms
Inefficient heating and AC systems
You or others smoking in your home
The presence of shedding pets
Visible signs of mold or mildew
Anyone in your home developing a weakened immune system
Dust clinging to your vents and registers
Stale or stuffy air
When you’re buying a home or building one
Nose or skin irritation
Headaches, nausea, or chronic fatigue
Stubborn odors that don’t go away

Being mindful of the warning signs of poor indoor air quality in Novato is essential for your family's health and comfort. If any of the above sound familiar, it's time to give us a call. Our experts will work with you to address your problem and provide a solution that fits your needs. We believe every home in Novato should be a sanctuary, and addressing these concerns can help make it just that.

Our Novato-Area IAQ Solutions

Air Quality Testing

How do you know what services you’ll need if you don’t set a baseline? Our comprehensive air quality tests check your air for pollutants, VOCs (volatile organic compounds), and humidity issues. Taking only 30 minutes or so, they’re a great option for people already getting work done by our HVAC experts.

Scheduling an air quality test will:

Pinpoint what’s causing your home's IAQ issues
Illustrate the need for air quality services

Test Your Air

Dehumidifiers

Air that’s too wet is not good for you. Bacteria, mold, and viruses thrive in environments above 60 percent humidity. The high humidity also enables these contaminants to stick around longer and cling to your household’s porous surfaces. In the summer, excess humidity leaves you feeling sticky and hot.

Dehumidifiers installed in your system:

Expel excess moisture from your home and help you feel cooler at higher temperatures.
Reduce energy costs
Decrease the dampness in your home
Make summer less sticky
Improve overall comfort
Help fight bacteria, dust, and mold

Remove Excess Moisture

Dryer Vent Cleaning

Though not exactly an air quality service, dryer vent cleaning is an important part of homeownership in Novato. Every year, thousands of house fires are traced to a build-up of lint in either the dryer's trap or the pipe leading out of it. Luckily, our expert staff are equipped to truly remove all of this debris, making your home safer for you and your family. To schedule a dryer vent cleaning in San Rafael or San Anselmo, call (415) 892-3424.

Below are a few benefits of getting your dryer's vent regularly cleaned:

Faster drying clothes.
Less damage to sensitive garments
A lowered risk of house fires
Improved energy usage
Improved indoor air quality

Reduce Fire Risk

High Efficiency Filters

Looking for a way to keep your family healthy? The only filter that can capture something as small as a virus is a HEPA filter. While typically found in hospitals, residential home HEPA filters are available. However, HEPA filters restrict air flow, and cannot go directly in the return air stream back to your furnace. Instead, HEPA filters are installed in a ‘bypass’ loop in the return air ductwork. With each pass, some of the air is shunted into the bypass and is pulled through the HEPA filter by a separate fan in the HEPA unit before returning to the main air stream. This way the furnace fan motor always has adequate airflow and eventually all the air is purified by the HEPA filter. For more information on how these filters are a smart buy, reach out to us at Kelly Plumbing & Heating.

High-efficiency filters can help with:

Pet dander
Dust
Smoke
Germs
Pollen

Get Better Filters

Humidifiers

A home that’s too dry deprives your nose and body of moisture needed by protective mucus layers and enables germs to travel farther. It also aggravates your throat and nose leading to allergy problems. Humidifiers, of which there are three main kinds, bring water into your home’s air to solve these problems. Letting Kelly Plumbing & Heating install a whole-home humidifier will mean more comfortable living for you and your family.

Installing a humidifier in the Novato area will:

Increase the moisture in your air
Reduce static electricity
Help you feel warmer in the winter
Protect your wooden furniture from drying out
Lower heating costs
Calm overly active allergies

Breathe Easier

Germicidal UV Lights

With a UVC Air Purifier (also called an Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation, or UVGI, air purifier) we harness the sun’s power to cleanse and put it in your ductwork. Per the EPA, ‘UVGI air cleaners are designed to use UV lamps to kill or deactivate microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, and fungal spores and fragments that are airborne or growing on surfaces.’ Typically, the application for killing microorganisms growing on surfaces is to keep the air conditioning coil above the furnace clean. However, if the purpose is to kill microorganisms in the air, the UVC Air Purifier is placed in the return air duct so that the air first passes through the UV kill zone before going through the filter or air cleaner.

Installing Germicidal lights in your ductwork will:

Reduce the number of germs in your home
Decrease your electricity costs
Make it easier to disinfect the air and surfaces in your home

Scrub Your Air

Air Purifiers

Air purifiers work by removing allergens, toxins, and pollutants from your air. They don’t emit anything and, to the uninformed, look like a heavier filtration system. While a portable air purifier may be sufficient for one or two rooms in your house, to purify your whole house, you’ll need a whole-house air purification system. Please note that these products require a forced-air system to operate effectively.

Having Kelly Plumbing & Heating install an air purifier for you in the Novato area will lead to:

Fewer lingering odors
Cleaner and healthier air
Longer periods between filter changes

To schedule your Air Quality Services in San Rafael CA, just email us!

Purify Your Air

Air Exchangers

The desire to leak-proof our homes and seal up old ducts has compounded our air quality issues. Many modern IAQ issues could actually be fixed by bringing fresh air in. That’s where air exchangers (aka ventilators) come in. They use one fan system to blow indoor air out and another to pull outside air in. This stops pollutants from overstaying their welcome and alleviates many of the symptoms of "Sick Building Syndrome.”

Air exchangers offer the following benefits to people in the San Anselmo area:

Reduced heating and AC costs
Allergy expulsion
Improvements to overall air quality

Cleaner Air Today

Duct Cleaning

Over time, dust and germs build up in your home’s ductwork. Vacuuming your registers can help but won’t reach things deep inside your ductwork. Getting duct cleaning done every few years can help remove long-standing odors and remove the irritants caught by other items on this list.

Calling Novato’s duct cleaning experts will:

Make it easier to retrieve items you dropped down the vents
Allergy expulsion
Improve overall air quality

Clean Your Ducts

General Duct Services

Sometimes a simple duct cleaning isn't enough to fix an air quality problem in Novato. Old ductwork degrades over time, leading to rust, leaks, and reduced HVAC efficiency. Though usually thought of as a ventilation issue, this can have an impact on the quality of your air. Fortunately, Kelly Plumbing & Heating is a full-service HVAC provider with the ability to repair, seal, and replace leaky ductwork.

Duct repair and sealing has a number of benefits in Novato, including:

More efficient heating and cooling of your home
Less dust build-up in your home
Fewer access points for pests

Replace Old Ductwork

Call Kelly Plumbing & Heating for Indoor Air Quality Services in Novato

For households with existing IAQ equipment, we also offer comprehensive maintenance and repair services. If you have a filter or humidity control system that’s not working right, give us a call at (415) 892-3424, so we can try and uncover the problem.

At Kelly Plumbing & Heating, we’ve been helping homeowners with their IAQ problems for years, since 1994, in fact. We always take the time to explain possible solutions and outline the costs ahead of time. Our HVAC company stands firmly behind the products we sell and are always willing to come back if there's an issue with the equipment. We service Novato, San Rafael, San Anselmo, and the surrounding communities. Therefore, if you're looking for an 'IAQ company near me,' you know you've come to the right place. Please reach out to us at (415) 892-3424 today to schedule an air quality evaluation or get a quote on dehumidifier installation in Novato.

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Indoor Air Quality FAQs

Do Humidity Levels REALLY Affect My Indoor Air Quality?

Yes, they do. Homes with exceedingly high humidity levels end up with mold, dust mites, and mildew. Houses with humidity that’s too low, meanwhile, experience dust and recurring sinus issues. Maintaining your home’s humidity levels between 30 and 50 percent keeps you in the “Comfort Zone”. Please note that these ideal levels drop in relation to outside temperatures.

Why Should I Care About My Home’s Air Quality?

Studies show that air in your home is likely more polluted than the air outside. No matter how tidy your house is, your air will still be filled with pollen, viruses, dust, and pet dander. Luckily—though we cannot solve everything—there are things Novato air quality experts can do fto help. This includes installing air sanitizer or UV germicidal lights in your HVAC system can truly expel these contaminants. We can also recommend improved filters, clean your ducts, and install humidification systems.

What are the Most Common Air Pollutants?

The most frequently found contaminants in your home are relatively harmless except for causing discomfort to those who may be allergic. They include pollen, fabric fibers, dust, pet dander, and other common household particles.

What Type of Furnace Filter Should I Use in My Home?

Start by determining how thick of a filter your system can accommodate. Most HVAC systems can’t accommodate filters that are more than an inch thick. In standard furnaces, we don't recommend anything above a MERV 8. This can lead to lowered system efficiency. If anyone in your home suffers from respiratory or cardiac disease, you might also want to consider installing thicker, more efficient filter. These typically have to be installed in a specialized cabinet.

What’s “Sick Building” Syndrome?

If you’ve done any research on IAQ, you’ve probably seen references to Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). This term comes from a study where public workers in one building reported headaches, fatigue, nausea, nose irritation, and watery eyes. Researchers examined this building and found it to have a lot of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air. This case gave birth to the term and is now used as a diagnosis for someone who experiences air pollution symptoms at work and notices an immediate improvement upon returning home.

Is There Anything I Can Do to Improve My Own Indoor Air Quality?

We recommend that homeowners who are concerned with the quality of the air they breathe take the following steps:

Purchase a HEPA filter
Vacuum, mop, and dust regularly to avoid airborne pollutants
Choose natural woods and furnishings that don't come with VOCs or emit chemical vapors
Open your windows and air your home out from time to time
Install a thermostat that includes humidity readings