It’s not hard to take steps toward improving your indoor air quality. And you’d be shocked if you found out how many pollutants, allergens and bacteria are still floating throughout your home’s air, even after it’s been through your furnace filter.
Did you know that the air inside your home is 2-5 times more polluted than the air you breathe outside? These pollutants can be a key contributor to asthma, allergies, and other health related issues. Shown below are some of the key contributors of poor air quality, and further down the page you will find a comprehensive list of products and services that will greatly improve your home’s air.
Sure, traditional air filters keep some things from permeating your home’s air, but they can’t stop everything. Also, a lot of people don’t realize that our furniture, carpeting and even drapes are exuding gases and fumes steadily that aren’t captured by regular air filters. When you think about how much time we spend in our homes, awake or asleep, don’t you want that air to be of the highest quality?
For Toshack in the Kingston, Smiths Falls and Brockville areas, ventilation is the tip of the iceberg. There are a wide variety of indoor air quality products that can meet and exceed your needs, ensuring your home has the healthiest air possible.
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For homes that have a central air system (the most common here in Ontario) the first step for improving Air Quality is the simple filter. The most basic filter is simply a fiberglass mesh filter, and it only captures very large particles -like bugs- and lets most dust particles pass through. They do very little to improve the air quality in your home and they reduce the longevity of your equipment.
The next step up is a pleated filter, which come in widths form 1” to five inches. The absolute King of this category is the 5” Lennox Carbon-Activated MERV 16 filter! Lennox Healthy Climate MERV16 filters are the highest rated available and are coated with Activated Carbon. In addition to capturing more than 95% of allergy aggravating particles from 0.3-1 microns, it helps to remove germs like viruses, bacteria, and mold. The addition of activated carbon greatly reduces odors. They have been rated the #1 professionally installed whole-home filtration system three consecutive times by a leading consumer magazine. These filters are a great first step to improving the air quality of your home.
Often times the things that aren’t seen are easily forgotten. One of those things are your ducts, but forgetting about them will translate to poor indoor air quality in your home. Just consider all the dust, dirt, mildew and bacteria that build up in areas you don’t regularly clean. Is that what you want your heated and conditioned air transported through before it comes out of the vents? We didn’t think so!
Toshack HVAC technicians are licensed professionals who are experienced and conscientious about ensuring that your duct system is as clean as possible. During a typical duct cleaning, our technicians will:
As builders and homeowners strive for efficiency by creating a very tight building envelope, they inadvertently create a trap for allergens and pollutants. The drafts of your grandparents’ homes were annoying but they also helped bring in cleaner outside air. Ventilation systems play an important role in improving indoor air quality in modern homes by reducing the concentration of pollutants inside the home. A Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) or an Energy Recover Ventilator (ERV) can replace stale indoor air with fresher, cleaner outdoor air without sacrificing comfort or wasting the expensive energy you’ve spent heating, cooling or dehumidifying it.
The HRV conserves energy from indoor conditioned air, and transfers it to the outdoor air as it is brought into the home to provide ventilation. The ERV does the same thing, but it also maintains the desired humidity levels to keep the house comfortable. ERVs are most useful in especially humid climates.
UV light units (also referred to as germicidal lamps) help decompose contaminants such as bacteria, chemicals, dust mites, animal dander, cat saliva, and mold through a process called photolysis oxidation. When the UV lights are installed in the ductwork of your central air and heat system, they can eliminate most of the organisms in the treated area.
Toshack professionally installs Lennox’ Healthy Climate Solutions™, and they have a variety of UV products to fit your home’s unique requirements. One of their newest in-duct products also includes patented carbon technology which has the added benefit of odor removal. Contact your Toshack Home Comfort rep for your free quote.
At the summit of air purification stands our Lennox® PureAir™ system—a testament to innovation. Diverging from conventional systems, PureAir™ targets all three classes of indoor air pollutants: allergens, mold, and odors. This revolutionary system marries hospital-grade filtration with photocatalytic oxidation (PCO), effectively reducing indoor air pollutant levels without generating harmful ozone.
The three-tiered purification process initiates with the Carbon Clean 16® filter, a microscopic guardian capturing particles as minuscule as 0.01 microns. Following this, the PCO cartridge, harnessing the power of UVA light and a titanium-dioxide-coated surface, meticulously dismantles odors and chemical vapors, transforming them into innocuous compounds. Notably, PureAir™ actively diminishes ozone, establishing a safer and healthier indoor haven.
Humidity control plays a crucial role in optimizing residential home comfort, as it directly affects how we perceive temperature, how we breathe, and even how well our homes are maintained. High humidity makes the air feel warmer than it actually is because it slows down the evaporation of sweat, which is the body’s natural cooling mechanism. (That’s why a key function of your A/C system is the removal of humidity.) High humidity also promotes the growth of mold, mildew, and dust mites, which can trigger allergies and asthma.
Conversely, low humidity can make the air feel colder, leading to overuse of heating systems in winter. Dry winter air also causes skin irritations, sinus issues, and respiratory discomfort. It can also dry out wood flooring and furniture.
The ideal humidity level is between 30% and 50%, for optimum comfort and health. Toshack supplies and professionally installs the full range of Lennox humidifiers and de-humidifiers to ensure your year-round comfort. They can also be matched with a Lennox Smart thermostat obtain a consistently comfortable atmosphere in your home.
Air duct cleaning involves the thorough cleaning of various components of forced air systems, including supply and return ducts and registers, diffusers and grilles, system coils, condensate drain pan, fan motor, and cabinetry. The specifics of what’s included may vary by service provider, so it’s advisable to ask for a detailed list before hiring a technician. Generally, we recommend duct cleaning every three to five years for most homes, and sooner for commercial buildings if they are high-traffic areas.
Toshack recommends air duct cleaning if pests have damaged the ducts, if there’s visible mold growth in the ducts or any part of the heating and cooling system, if debris and dust clog the ducts, or if there are unusual illnesses or allergies among occupants of the home. You can also schedule an inspection to check for any issues with your ducts to better make a decision about whether you need to schedule duct cleaning in Ontario.
The duration of an air duct cleaning appointment typically takes four hours or less, depending on the size of your home. It’s best to ask our technicians for an estimated time based on the square footage of your home, and we can give you an estimate for your duct cleaning services.
Yes, air duct cleaning can significantly benefit allergy sufferers. Cleaner air, free from dust, bacteria, fungi, and other allergens, reduces triggers for sneezing, coughing, and congestion. This leads to improved air quality and comfort in the home.
Air duct cleaning can reduce home energy bills. A build-up of grime and contaminants in the ductwork restricts airflow, causing the HVAC system to work harder and use more energy. Cleaning the ducts ensures peak efficiency and more cost-effective operation of the HVAC system. Duct cleaning will also uncover any underlying issues with your HVAC system or ducts that might cause long-term problems and can save you money in the long term as a result.
Toshack recommends professional cleaning of air ducts every three to five years. However, more frequent inspections might be necessary if moving into a new home, after a remodeling project, for allergy or asthma sufferers, in homes with pets, or in cases of water damage or contamination. Schedule an appointment for an inspection or duct cleaning to find out more about the condition of your ducts and how to get professional duct cleaning in Ontario.
Heating, Cooling & Plumbing Experts Serving Kingston, Brockville, Smith Falls & surrounding areas
Toshack Head Office
1415 California Avenue, Unit 5,
PO Box 336
Brockville, Ontario K6V 5V5
Kingston Location
1407 John Counter Blvd- unit 210
Kingston, ON, K7K 6A9
TSSA Number: FS R000076641680
Plumbing License: P00049
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