Maybe you've seen those late night infomercials and heard about those popular and expensive ionizing air cleaners that are supposed to clean and improve the quality of air inside of your homes and office. Consumers have been purchasing these pricey air cleaners thinking they are getting the best product for their money. In reality they may be causing more health problems for themselves then they realize.

Although many furnace manufacturers recommend changing the furnace filter only twice yearly, the demands of good indoor air quality, energy efficiency, and proper airflow call for more frequent changes.

In general, the type of filter may not be as important as its cleanliness. That is, unless there are allergies or COPD- related conditions suffered by any of the family members. In which case there would arise a need for more expensive HEPA-type filters (about $10-$12) apiece.

HEPA furnace filters are high efficiency filters that screen airborne particles from the air. First created by the government in mid-1950, HEPA furnace filters work by providing several layers of fibers through which circulated air passes. As the air passes through the layers of a HEPA furnace filter, particles are caught, or filtered, in the sheets of fiber. A HEPA furnace filter removes 99.97% of the particles in the air.

When you first turn on your furnace in the Fall, do you notice a dusty smell throughout the house? This should be a reminder to you that you should have changed the furnace filter. Changing the filter frequently is important for a couple of reasons: it reduces indoor air pollution, and it improves home efficiency. You should not wait for that dusty smell to remind you to replace your furnace filter.

Maintaining clean air throughout the home is essential to the health of yourself and your family. Germs and diseases are often spread through dust mites and mold in the air. Indoor air quality usually worsens during winter when most windows have to be kept closed. However if you want to keep the air in your home clean and fresh all year round here are 10 steps to do so.

Water quality in the United States has a great deal of variation. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establishes and enforces water quality standards for the entire nation. However the EPA does not test the water in every state and city. The EPA holds the individual states responsible for water quality testing. States must keep detailed records, which the EPA uses to ensure compliance with federal law. Private water suppliers must follow the same procedures.

When selling your home a few simple things can be done to increase your house worth without breaking the bank. Your real estate agent is an invaluable resource beyond estimating house values based on comparable homes. They have seen thousands of home walk throughs and know what gives pause to potential buyers and, yes, it is usually the little things.

Many people tend to think all their allergies come from being outside. The truth is, home allergens are quite common, causing sickness and other health problems.

Radon is a color-less, odor-less gas which is produced by the natural decay of soils containing uranium. The gas rises through the soil and seeps into cracks or spaces in a building foundation, basement, or crawl space.

In these days of sky-rocketing energy costs, saving money with efficient home energy is becoming a necessity. Contrary to popular opinion, going green will save a large amount of money in the long run. There are many simple, DIY steps to help improve your home’s energy efficiency – which will be beneficial to Mother Nature as well as your pocketbook.

Water quality can vary greatly from city to city but the majority of U.S. cities have some sort of pollution in their drinking water. City water must be filtered by the city to take out contaminants such as motor oil, sewage, acid from rainwater, as well as more dangerous toxins like bromate, total trihalomethanes, chlorine, antimony, cadmium, copper, fluoride, atrazine, chlordane, picloram, styrene, alpha particles and uranium. However, even after the city filters out these harmful contaminants some may continue to exist in low levels.

Take a look around your house - you probably don't see any green and grimy mold growing, do you? Of course not. You maintain a clean home and take pride in providing a healthy environment for your family, especially through indoor air quality. But what you don't know about your own home may make you extremely ill. Mold is a silent home invader which is present in far more homes than you might imagine – causing allergies, asthma, and other serious illnesses. Whether growing beneath flooring panels or inside of walls or behind appliances, it's important to be able to recognize that indoor air pollution may be caused by the presence of mold in the home. In humid environments, mold can grow and create airborne spores, which cause health problems for you and your family.

For parents of young children there is not much as frightening as the presence of lead paint in the home.  On the one hand research seems to show that keeping the lead encapsulated with a high quality paint should be sufficient to keep lead out of the indoor environment and out of our children's bodies.  However we were faced with lead paint in our upstairs bedrooms windows including my 4 year old son and pregnant wife.  With the Summer months winding down, we really wanted to remove the health threat and be able to open our windows without fear of the particles of lead dust and flaking payment covering our living environment.

We spend a lot of time in our homes. From watching TV and eating, to sleeping or taking in a good book, most people spend the vast majority of their lives inside the home. But we rarely consider the air quality inside our homes, and how our health might be affected by the indoor air pollution to which our lungs are subjected. How dirty is the air we’re breathing? How much are our lungs and bodies actually suffering because of the invisible indoor air pollutants we inhale from inside our own homes?

The standard residential HVAC system (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system) has a fiberglass filter that protects the heating and cooling unit, but little else. And if you have problems with pollen, mold spores, dust mite debris, smog, pet dander, smoke or dust than you need a home air filter to protect your health as well as your home appliances. Luckily there are many commercial air cleaners and filters that will help remove these allergens and pollutants from your home.

There are many effective methods for the modern homeowner to improve the air quality inside his or her home. From specially designed furnace filters to ultraviolet lamps, Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) or Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) - there are several options for those of us who are concerned about the quality of the air we are breathing in, and the resulting health of ourselves and our families. Below you will find several different tips for improving the air quality inside your home.

The difference between an authentic HEPA filter and a normal home furnace filter is huge. There are many filter products being sold in stores and on the internet which claim to be "HEPA type" or "HEPA rated" filters. What these descriptions are attempting to get around is the fact that there are very specific qualifications for HEPA which may prevent these less-than-qualified filters from being represented truly as "HEPA."

It’s true that different types of filters all attempt to do the same thing, but different filters work with different degrees of effectiveness. The Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) only requires a filter to capture medium to large particles, which only makes up about 1% of the contaminants. But a Microparticle Performance Rating (MPR) on a filter is better, because it measures a filter’s ability to capture particles between .03 and 1.0 micron, which means it captures 99% of contaminants in the air.

With the chill of winter quickly approaching, many people are wondering how they're going to handle the increased energy prices. Luckily for you, there are many ways homeowners can make their homes energy efficient while purifying their indoor air from pollutants and allergens.

Even if you are one of the lucky few who doesn't suffer from a breathing condition, there are still benefits to cleaning the air inside your home and guarding against an overly-humid environment. Scientists have reported for years that cleaner air can increase the quality and quantity of one's life. Since the majority of us spend more time inside then outside, investing some time and money to improve your indoor air quality is a wise decision. Excessive levels of humidity in your home can cause the growth of mold, which can cause severe health problems for the members of your family, as well as expensive problems with your house.