The holidays are a great time for family and friends to gather. However, holiday activities like cooking also significantly and quickly degrade indoor air quality. Even just the large number of people in a house during the winter presents issues. Fortunately, there are several ways to keep the air in your home fresh as you go through the holidays.
Ventilation
One of the simplest solutions to holiday indoor air quality concerns is ventilation. Even the basic act of cracking a window at a strategic location creates cross-ventilation. Ceiling fans can also circulate air in both kitchens and rooms with lots of guests.
An attic fan can be a surprising difference-maker. Whole-house attic fan systems can exhaust 2,000 CFM or more, rapidly exhausting cooking byproducts and less-than-fresh air from your house. This also draws humidity out of your home, getting rid of a mold growth factor that encourages bad smells.
If these solutions aren’t quite getting the job done, consider turning on a bathroom exhaust fan to create a greater air draw. Cracking an upstairs window can also accelerate ventilation. This is especially true if a large crowd and lots of cooking have created a buildup of poor air.
Range Hoods
Addressing smells and humidity at the point of origin is often best, so a range hood matters when events involve lots of cooking. The filter type in your range hood also makes a difference. Charcoal filters can control smells better, but they can also saturate quickly with grease and humidity from cooking. Be sure to check your range hood’s filter after each event to ensure it isn’t gunked up.
Many range hoods also have simpler grease filters. Be sure to clean or replace your grease filter according to the system’s instructions. Doing this after events goes a long way toward discouraging lingering food and cooking smells.
Also, make sure the range hood runs during the entire time the heat is on for the stove or oven. Keep it running for at least 15 minutes after you’re done cooking. This helps remove residual grease and other particles from the air.
Air Filtration
The go-to basic solution for indoor air quality at any time of the year is air filtration. A whole-house air filter can purify air from multiple rooms. This is an especially important feature as holiday guests move to different parts of your home.
HEPA Filters
Basic filtration does a good job of addressing things like dander and dust bunnies. However, you really need a HEPA filter to handle the challenges that come with holiday gatherings. Indoor spaces tend to be closed up during the holidays, and this causes winter viruses like cold, flu, and COVID to circulate. A HEPA filter is a good way to catch pathogens and improve health through fresh air.
UV Light
You may also want to consider a UV treatment system for your HVAC. UV rays in the unit bombard the air, killing pathogens and mold spores. Such designs easily retrofit with most existing HVAC units, too.
Carbon Filters
An air filtration stage that includes activated carbon is another good way to keep your home’s air fresh. In addition to smells from cooking, molecules also accumulate in the air from sweat and other bodily functions. Activated charcoal reacts to these molecules, eliminating much of what causes smells in close quarters during the holiday.
Humidity Management
Holiday cooking and the moisture from many people at a large gathering can quickly increase humidity levels in a home. Modern sealing and insulation tend to make it hard for that air to easily filter into your house. This is true even if the outdoor air is dry from a winter cold front. Likewise, people tracking snow into the house on boots and shoes contribute to rising humidity levels.
Humidity levels above 60% encourage mold growth, which causes health issues and triggers odors. The ideal range is 30-50%. A whole-house dehumidifier makes a huge difference by circulating large volumes of moist air out of multiple rooms.
High-Efficiency Heating Systems
If you have the opportunity to replace your HVAC before the holidays, consider how a new system might improve indoor air quality. Many modern heat pumps don’t use ductwork to circulate air, and that discourages dust and other irritants from circulating in your house.
Heat-recovery solutions for traditional systems like furnaces and boilers can also improve air quality. These reduce runtimes and make better use of incoming air. There are even many good options for today’s oil-based system.
Geothermal solutions are particularly good at improving indoor air quality. By eliminating combustion from the equation, geothermal HVAC systems provide significantly fresher air.
HVAC Maintenance
Even if the timing isn’t right to replace your HVAC, a bit of maintenance will improve indoor air quality. The obvious choice is to replace air filters as the holidays approach. However, improved HVAC efficiency through tuning also helps. An efficient HVAC circulates air better, and that generally improves indoor air quality.
Smart Thermostats
Modern smart thermostats offer impressive levels of control over your home’s systems. Some models even have sensors for monitoring indoor air quality and humidity in addition to the temperature. The smart thermostat can then schedule ventilation cycles to circulate the air and improve freshness. Likewise, some models interoperate with dehumidifiers, kicking up activity when the humidity level spikes.
Remote access to your smart thermostat makes it easier to regulate temperatures in different rooms. Many zoned systems allow you to reduce heating in the kitchen while you cook, for example.
Smart thermostats can also pay attention while your focus is elsewhere. This means you can spend more time working on cooking and talking with guests and less time making adjustments to the climate control system.
Odor Control
Fabrics and surfaces often accumulate odor-causing molecules. The air can also circulate these molecules, creating a general sense of staleness. Many people use natural products like cinnamon, citrus, and vanilla to mask odors, especially during cooking. Cleaning surfaces with while vinegar also helps control odors. You may want to consider steam cleaning carpets and upholstery before and after holiday gatherings, too.
Ductwork
Many houses in this part of Maryland have HVAC ductwork. However, dust accumulates in ducts and reduces air quality. Proper ductwork cleaning and maintenance is a good way to keep your home’s air fresh.
Call the Team Your Neighbors Trust
Southern Pride Service handles HVAC and indoor air quality needs for customers in La Plata, MD, and the surrounding areas. Our trained technicians can address issues of all sizes. Whether you’re installing a new system, planning upgrades, or scheduling maintenance, we do excellent work. You can also have us perform repairs and provide advice about which systems are right for your house. Our specials page offers plenty of ways to save on projects, too.
We have been in business since 1993, and our technicians work on systems from a variety of well-known and respected manufacturers. Our company is a licensed contractor in both Maryland and Virginia, also.
If you’re curious how you can keep your home’s air fresher this holiday season, contact the technicians that your La Plata neighbors trust at Southern Pride Service.
