Is Indoor Air Quality Worse at Night in New Bern, NC?
The problems that poor indoor air quality (IAQ) poses are always serious, no matter how or when they occur. Nevertheless, homeowners in New Bern, NC, should be aware of the evidence suggesting that IAQ may actually become worse at night. Here are a few reasons IAQ may decline when it gets dark:
Effects of Your Daily Activities
Suppose that you had spent a significant amount of time cooking or cleaning before going to bed. Activities like these will release all kinds of fumes into the air, whether from the food you made or the cleaning products you used.
Because the temperature tends to cool at night, your air conditioner may turn off during that time and simply allow these things to linger in the air. As they diffuse, your IAQ will decrease.
When your system turns on again in the morning, it may clean your air, but consecutive nights of such cooking or cleaning may gradually exacerbate the situation. Depending on how serious things get, you may need to either program your HVAC system to stay on all night or change your daily routine.
One way or another, most of the factors that tend to diminish nighttime indoor air quality will relate to your HVAC system and its behavior. Hence, these things will be recurring themes in our discussion.
Humidity Levels
Under most circumstances, an indoor humidity level between 40% and 60% should be ideal. However, for a few reasons, indoor humidity levels are much more likely to become erratic after dark.
The colder that air becomes, the less capacity it will have to hold and absorb moisture. Therefore, if the temperature decreases and the level of moisture remains constant, your surroundings will begin to feel muggier and more humid. As humidity rises, various insects, viruses, bacteria and other biological entities will all find that they have a more hospitable environment in which to lay their droppings and reproduce themselves.
The proliferation of such things can only have a negative impact on IAQ. They can trigger allergic reactions, induce coughing or sneezing and cause congestion and lightheadedness, among other things. More generally, high humidity can create discomfort and make it difficult to sleep.
Excessively low humidity will also adversely affect IAQ, though, for reasons we’ve already given, such issues are much more likely to occur on unusually cooler nights. Low humidity can dry out your throat and nasal passages, making breathing uncomfortable. It can exacerbate allergies, asthma or respiratory diseases like bronchitis.
To properly regulate your home’s humidity levels, you may want to get either a humidifier or dehumidifier. A well-maintained and efficient HVAC system will also contribute to keeping your home’s humidity levels within a normal range.
Poor Ventilation
In one form or another, most of your IAQ issues will lead back to the level and quality of ventilation that prevails in your home. If your HVAC system has the power to treat and circulate air effectively, it’ll be able to remove at least a substantial part of the airborne pollutants around you. If you program your thermostat to keep your system’s fans working through the night, you can fight the IAQ issues that we’ve been discussing.
Many people prefer to sleep with their doors and windows closed, which only further hinders ventilation. If your HVAC system’s filters or other interior components become too dirty, this can reduce the airflow through your system and contribute to your nighttime IAQ worsening. These considerations mean that you must not forget to provide your HVAC system with professional-grade maintenance at least once per year and change its filters no less than once every three months.
While it may seem unfair that IAQ tends to be at its lowest when you’re asleep, small changes can help improve it. Call J & J Mechanical, Inc. to learn how our IAQ services can help you sleep soundly.
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