St Louis Indoor Air Quality Services

Indoor Air Quality St Louis

The air quality in your St Louis home is extremely important for both you and your family’s comfort and health. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deems indoor air quality to be 100 times worse than most exterior atmospheres. There are so many types of indoor air quality systems that Hoffmann Brothers can offer you that can help you breathe better in your own home. We are proud to also target IAQ in schools. Our Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) systems can help with allergies, dust, dry skin, sinus pain, airborne bacteria, static electricity, pet dander and more! We can repair, service, and install Humidifiers, UV lights, Air cleaners, thermostats, air scrubbers and Nest Protects. When you need a reliable and professional indoor air quality specialist, call Hoffmann Brothers at (314) 664-3011.

Air Duct Cleaning St Louis

Air ducts are the main source of air circulation throughout your home or business property. When ducts go ignored or become blocked, mold, bacteria and allergens prevail. Contact Hoffmann Brothers to schedule you next air duct cleaning service today.

Dryer Vent Cleaning St Louis

Cleaning the buildup of lint and debris from your dryer vent and ducts is not only a recommended annual maintenance service for dryers, it’s also a major deterrent of fires associated with these systems. Call for your dryer vent cleaning today.

Humidifiers St Louis

During the St Louis winters, does it get very dry in your home? Do you wake up with a dry or sore throat? Do you have a lot of Static Electricity? A humidifier can be the answer to all your problems. To learn more about the humidifiers Hoffmann Brothers installs, visit our Humidifier page or call us at (314) 664-3011.

UV Lights St Louis

Do you want to remove the unwanted pollutants, bacteria, and germs in your home? Do you want to make the air you breathe cleaner? By installing a UV light on your HVAC system, we can help enhance the indoor air quality in your home. Visit our UV light page or call us at (314) 664-3011.

Air Cleaner St Louis

Looking for how to stop allergies for you or your family? By installing an air cleaner in your home, it can help reduce the symptoms and trips to the doctor.  Air cleaners can help remove over 95% of the duct, pollen, mold spores, and bacteria in your home.  With an air cleaner you can breathe easier! To learn more about our air cleaners visit our air cleaner page or call us at (314) 664-3011.

Thermostats St Louis

Want to control the comfort of your home? Having a programmable thermostat that can be set through your smart phone or electronically is the norm these days. We offer so many types of different thermostats to our St Louis customers. Learn more about our different thermostats on our Thermostat page or call us at (314) 664-3011.

Nest Protect

The Nest Protect is a state of the art Smoke and Carbon Monoxide detector. The Nest Protect will alert you when there is trouble, both in your home and on your phone in case you are not in or near your house at the time. It will run tests itself and you can also silence the detector through the Nest app. It is a sleek design and will last a decade. To learn more about getting Nest Protects installed in your home, please call us at 314-664-3011

Air Scrubber

Want to decrease the number of times you visit the doctor each year for sickness and allergies? Then the air scrubber is your answer. The air scrubber cleans the air, gets rids of odors, and purifies the air by getting rid of mold, pollutants and contaminants. To learn more about an air scrubber for your St Louis area home, call us at 314-664-3011.

Targeting Air Pollutants and Allergies With Indoor Air Quality

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control separates indoor air pollutants into three categories:

• Allergens particulates (level1)
• Infectious disease (level 2)
• Toxic compounds (level 3)

The Allergen particulates can trigger allergy symptoms: dry throat, running nose, sinus pain and pressure, itchy eyes, and headaches. Mold, Mildrew and Dust are among other allergens particulates that have been found to trigger serious ailments. Things that can contribute to more serious symptoms of indoor air quality are dust, pet dander, tobacco, mold & mildew, pollen, and poor air ventilation.

It is a proven fact that those that occupy a home with clean air quality have fewer viruses and colds. Those with bad asthma and allergies that have better air quality due to better HVAC filtration and air cleaners have less symptoms and doctor visits annually.

While changing air filters on a regular basis can prevent certain allergen particulates from floating throughout the home, it’s not a substitution for breathing pure air and proper air ventilation. By simply adding a humidifier, electronic air cleaner or a media filter to your home can help improve the indoor air quality dramatically.

Combatting Asthma With IAQ Installation

Poor indoor air quality triggers asthma attacks. Pet dander, mold, mildew, chemical irritants, and dust mites are just some of the potential trigger which cause asthmatic flare-ups. An indoor air quality plan will help eliminate the common causes of asthma.

Eliminating Mold With Professional Indoor Air Quality Treatment

Mold is a major source of concern related to health in the indoor environments.” – Department of Missouri Health and Senior Services

Mold is counterproductive to clean indoor air quality. Here are some top methods defend against the contaminant:

• Investigate the source of mold – Mold is the byproduct of leaks, floods, sewage backups and elevated humidity levels. Locate the source of the mold. Sometimes, a crawl space can emit moisture, triggering the growth of mold.
• Amend any plumbing or drainage problems – If the cause to the mold is due to a leaky faucet, toilet or other sewage draining problems, consult a plumbing service contractor to diagnose and prescribe an effective solution. Also, after the problem has been rectified, remember to discard all items affected by the sewage backup or flood.
• Eliminate household mold. Mold killing agents are available at home improvement stores in a spray bottle. The chemical compound is one cup of bleach and seven to 10-parts water. The mixture should be applied to the mold laden area. To avoid accidents, wear goggles and gloves. However, sanitizing mold only solves half the problem, as it perpetuates in environments where there is moisture.

Protecting Against Radon With Proper Indoor Air Quality

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that radon in the home is fatal to indoor air quality (IAQ), and associated with some 21,000 lung cancer deaths every year. Lung cancer caused by radon exposure is the second cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers.

Important Facts About Radon Exposure in the Home

• Nine U.S. departments are participating in the fight against radon in a federal radon action plan initiative. These include the EPA, Departments of Agriculture (USDA), Energy (DOE), Health and Human Services (HHS), Veteran Affairs (VA) General Services Administration (GSA) Housing and Urban Development (HUD Interior (DOI) and Defense (DOD).
• Because radon is an odorless gas–homeowners do not have any tangible signs. A radioactive naturally occurring gas, radon builds up in water, soil and rock, emitting invisible, toxins into a home. This vapor intrusion predominantly transpires over the winter months, when most households are susceptible to exposure.
• In St. Louis and around the country, poor indoor air quality (IAQ) contributes to the severe effects of radon. In other words, radon is not specific to certain regions.
• Levels above 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) call for a professional clean up. (Also, the EPA purports that individuals who smoke in households, where radon levels exceed average radon levels of 1.3 (pCi/L) are at greater risk of lung cancer).
• Radon is not completely avoidable. There are a few tactics for preventing it. Seal spaces from foundations. This includes any cracks where outside air seeps in. Fans and vent pipes help aid in the reduction of radon.

Additional Steps to Improve Indoor Air Quality

Hoffmann Brothers prescribes five steps on enhancing indoor air quality:

1. Start at the windows in each room throughout the home. When using household cleaners, remember to turn on a fan and open windows to release any VOCs. Use a damp paper cloth to wipe out wind sills and window panes to remove dirt accumulation.
2. Next, move onto eliminating tiny particulates and dust from other surfaces. Air vents, and shelves serve as a magnet for dust and particle accumulation. Use a damp cloth to wipe away dust build up. Then, follow up with a cloth lightly misted with the appropriate household cleaner.
   Hoffmann Brothers Heating and Conditioning Contractors: Don’t forget to check underneath sinks, cabinets and crawl spaces for mold. The bacteria have been found to trigger some fatal outcomes when undetected.
3. Dust-laden air filters can redistribute particulate matter throughout the home, recycling allergens associated with respiratory illnesses. Swapping out old air filters with new ones every 5 to 6 weeks complements healthy indoor air quality.
4. Schedule maintenance. Heating and air conditioning maintenance is another facet of improving a household’s indoor quality as well as its energy savings. To assure the safety and optimal performance, components of the heating and air conditioning unit require the annual care of a professional. Aside from cleaning parts of the HVAC, the contractor will check for leaks, corrosion and loose connections.
5. Contact a St. Louis heating and air conditioning contractor with a proven reputation

10 Important Facts About Indoor Air Quality

As humidity poses a risk to indoor air quality (IAQ), it is also associated with a host of airborne contaminants. The following facts and tips present solutions to improving indoor air quality in the summer and winter.

1. Damp environments, plumbing leaks and the humid climate of Missouri frequently attribute to the growth of mold.
2. Mold is the byproduct of indoor environments exceeding humidity levels of 60 percent and more.
3. An eco-friendly approach for reducing winter energy loads, while eliminating dry air is to allow clothes to dry indoors on a clothes line.
4. Studies, documented by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), illustrate that many households have significantly worst indoor air quality than the pollutants associated of an exterior industrial environment.
5. The most prevalent pollutants, which pose a threat to air quality in the US, include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and the ozone.
6. A de-humidifier is vital to reducing humidity in the home. To stave off mold. However, mold does develop in dry environments.
7. The EPA also recommends that humidity levels should range between 30 and 50 percent in the home to impede the development of mold.
8. As condensation is often associated with humidity, always wipe walls, windows and pipes when moisture collects on these household surfaces.
9. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) purports that mold triggers the following irritations: itchy eyes, nasal congestion, wheezing. Coughing and other respiratory side effects.
10. In the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area and surrounding counties (St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson), Hoffmann Brothers assures clean indoor air quality.

Common Misconceptions About Indoor Air Quality

As the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to usher in stringent air quality laws, many U.S. households are under the misconception about indoor air quality. Here are some common myths about IAQ debunked:

• Myth: Residential environments always have the best indoor air quality.
  The EPA states that many U.S. household’s indoor air quality pales in comparison to that of a manufacturing or industrial facility. When the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) commonly found in paint, wood finishes and some home cleaning detergents blend with the carbon emissions released from the heating and air conditioner, these factors contribute to poor indoor air quality (IAQ).
• Myth: All heating systems basically call for the same energy requirements.
  On the contrary, heating systems engineered before 2002 are less energy-efficient than today’s heating system appliances. Because the EPA and the U.S Department of Energy (DOE) instituted specific AFUE annual fuel utilization standards, heat pump, air handlers, ductless heating systems, furnace and other heating devices must be in compliance.
• Myth: Indoor air quality has nothing to do with allergies, asthma or the respiratory conditions.
  In contrast, poor IAQ has a direct relationship to allergens as well as asthmatic attacks.

Indoor Air Quality Diagnostic Test

In order to detect dust mites, dander, mold, and other airborne contaminants, some heating and air conditioning contractors conduct IAQ diagnostic tests. These quick tests help prescribe the best approach for purifying the air and enhancing indoor air quality.

FAQ’s About Indoor Air Quality