Category: Air Quality

Indoor Air Quality a Rising Concern For Home Buyers

Many potential home buyers are actively looking to relocate in the spring and summer months, and this makes the warmer months of the year a very busy time for the real estate market. If you have decided to buy an existing home or build your dream home, indoor air quality is something that should be a priority. There are ways you can ensure that your future home is healthy and safe for all the members of your family by dealing with these concerns before you make a buying decision. Indoor Air Concerns for New Home Buyers When you decide to purchase a new home, you give yourself the best opportunity to ensure that your indoor air quality is healthy. During the past 10 years, home builders have noted that consumers have been asking for “green” building materials more often. They want to buy homes built with flooring, cabinet materials and other products that are environmentally sustainable and free from dangerous chemicals. Bamboo is a popular choice for flooring, and it is an example of an environmentally friendly building product. Reclaimed oak, which is usually found locally, is another one, and is a better choice than traditional oak for flooring when

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pet friendly home IAQ

Breathe Easy: The Pet Owner’s Guide to Better Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

If you’re a proud pet parent in Canoga Park or the San Fernando Valley, you already know how much love and joy furry friends bring into a home. But alongside the tail wags and cozy snuggles, pets can also introduce dander, hair, and odors that compromise your indoor air quality (IAQ). With the warmer months approaching, and your AC system doing more heavy lifting, now is the perfect time to focus on how you can breathe easier—without sacrificing cuddle time. Why Pet Owners Should Prioritize IAQ Indoor air quality isn’t just about comfort—it’s about health. According to the EPA, indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air, and for pet owners, those levels can be even higher. Pet dander (tiny skin flakes), fur, saliva proteins, and tracked-in allergens can linger in your home’s air, ductwork, and even settle in your HVAC filters. If left unaddressed, these particles may aggravate allergies, asthma, and other respiratory issues—especially for kids, seniors, or immunocompromised individuals. Top IAQ Challenges in Pet-Friendly Homes How MightyServ Can Help Improve IAQ for Pet Owners MightyServ has been helping families in Canoga Park and across the San Fernando Valley breathe cleaner air since 1963.

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Wildfire Smoke Solutions: Enhancing Indoor Air Quality

Safeguard your indoor air quality from wildfire smoke in San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas with MightyServ’s tailored solutions. Learn how to protect your home against the hidden dangers of wildfire smoke pollutants with our expertise and commitment to excellence.

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3 Reasons Why You Need Proper Ventilation in Your Home

You walk into a room and are immediately assaulted with the musty, stale odor of stagnant air. In cases like this, it is easy to see—or, rather, smell—how improper ventilation can create an air quality issue. The problem of inadequate ventilation has increased in recent years. In pursuit of energy efficiency, many modern homes are designed to be airtight, trapping pollutants and allergens. As a result, these homes are chocked off from much-needed fresh outside air. Here are three reasons to ensure proper ventilation in your home. Volatile Organic Compounds These dangerous chemicals are emitted from thousands of everyday building materials, cleaners, and furniture into your home. They can lead to serious health concerns marked by respiratory issues, headaches, and neurological symptoms. Since it is nearly impossible to avoid VOCs in your home, the best way to prevent the buildup of the gasses is to provide proper ventilation. Moisture and Mold Without proper ventilation, a house can quickly suffer from too much moisture in the air. This is especially true in hot, humid climates where moisture is prevalent. The Department of Energy ranks air movement as the most efficient method of conducting moisture. Odors and Allergens Odors and allergens such as dust

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What is a Ductless HVAC System and What Are Its Benefits?

Everybody loves central air. It’s an absolutely wonderful invention that allows us to live comfortably in otherwise disagreeable climates. But there are several major drawbacks to central air as a heating and cooling method which have left homeowners frustrated and wanting a better way of doing things. In time past, there wasn’t much in the way of different options to alleviate these frustrations, but recent advances in technology and new ways of using “old” systems has opened up new options for homeowners. Let’s go over how ductless HVAC systems have changed the game for indoor air. Looks Like a Duct, Sucks Like a Duct With central air there is usually a single return per air handler where the warm air from inside the home is sucked into that air handler. Some homes will have two returns for a single air handler, or will have two air handlers for a single floor of the home if it has a large square footage. There is also usually one air handler per floor of the home. But even those extra returns aren’t sufficient to adequately perform some basic functions. Those returns are where the air in the home is filtered. Trying to pull the

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Should I Get My Home’s Air Ducts Cleaned?

In recent years, many companies have begun to offer air duct cleaning as a part of the overall cleaning program. This increased interest in duct cleaning brings up a simple question: is it beneficial to get a home’s air ducts cleaned? The short answer is yes. Coastal areas like the San Fernando Valley have plenty of wind stirring up dust, dirt, and other debris. This paired with the fact that our hot weather puts a higher demand on HVAC systems makes clean, efficient operation very important. Here are several reasons why our clients have found it helpful to get their air ducts cleaned, and why you will too. System efficiency: Dust in the air ducts will impede air flow and congest the air-handling unit, leading to excessive energy use and unnecessary wear on system components. Cleaning the ducts will reduce the resistance encountered by the system’s fan. Occupant health: Dust is a notorious source of allergy problems. The dust itself and the mold that can grow in it can be very irritating to building occupants. Duct cleaning makes the home healthier. Home cleanliness: If you’ve ever thought that your home was getting dusty unusually quickly after you cleaned, you probably have dust buildup

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Indoor Air Quality Tips for Pet Owners

Are you a pet owner? So many people are, and they not only consider pets a part of their life, but also a part of their family. This means that pets occupy space within homes, both inside and out, and are oftentimes in areas that humans spend a lot of time in. What does this mean for you? What makes pets so fuzzy and cute—their fur—can carry a lot of allergens and indoor air pollutants, including dust, dander and elements from the outdoors such as pollen. Because of this, pet owners would be wise to pay attention to the quality of their indoor air. While everyone can be affected by poor indoor air quality, pet owners are even more susceptible due to the nature of owning a pet. Healthy Indoor Air Quality Tips for Pet Owners To prevent poor indoor air quality, it’s smart to consider what you can do to keep your home free of common pollutants from pets. One of the most problematic of these pollutants is dander. Dander is found on cats, dogs, rabbits, and other furry pets, and is essentially microscopic particles of dried skin. It is so problematic because, it, not pet hair, is the

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What Duct Sealing Can Do For You

Your air ducts are an important part of your home comfort system. They help distribute the warm or cool air from your central HVAC system to the different areas of your home. However, did you know that between 20 to 30 percent of air moving through your duct system is lost due to leaks and holes? This can have a significant impact on both your home comfort and your energy costs. Below, we’ll talk a little bit more about how duct sealing can help you cut down on energy consumption and save more on your monthly utility bills over time. Benefits of Duct Sealing A duct system that is properly sealed will not only help make your home more comfortable, but it can also help with energy efficiency. Here are just a few of the benefits of duct sealing: Improves Home Comfort When you seal and insulate your duct system, it can help improve the level of home comfort in your living areas. You will no longer have to deal with rooms that become too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter time. Increases Home Safety Gas appliances like furnaces, water heaters, or clothes dryers will release gases such

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How to Improve Your Home’s Indoor Air Quality

Before you can know how to improve air quality, it is good to know what can ruin it. In this article, we encourage you to do the following things that will make you enjoy a better quality of air in your home. 1. Eliminate dust in your home Regular dusting helps you reduce the level of animal dander, dust mites, and pollen in your home, but those aren’t the only way to rid your home of potential contaminants. Regular dusting will help to keep dust mites and other pollutants at bay, but to correctly dust-proof your home, be sure to use a cleaning cloth that grabs the dust (such as Swiffer brand products) so you aren’t just mixing the dust back into the air. Switching from thicker, cloth curtains to lighter curtains will also keep the fabric from attracting and storing so much dust. 2. Waterproof your premises Any moisture in your home is a big risk. Left unchecked, moisture can encourage fungal growth. Additionally, mold can create spores that can become toxic when unattended. Waterproofing involves checking leach fields, gutters, roofs, taps, piping and the entire plumbing works, flood vulnerability, and ventilation. Any trained technician can check your home for

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The Importance of Regular HVAC Maintenance

Your HVAC is an important part of your home. Keeping your house warm in the winter and cool in the summer is a vital part of keeping your family happy and healthy—and a happy and healthy family means less stress for you. Like any vital appliance in your home, your HVAC system requires regular maintenance in order for it to continue running at full capacity. If you see or hear signs of heater damage such as strange noises, foul odors, or your HVAC not heating and/or cooling properly, you probably need a repair or replacement for your unit. However, regularly scheduled, preventative maintenance can prolong your HVAC’s life and keep you from having to worry about the repair or replace argument for a while. Lower Your Bills When your heater or air conditioner has to work harder to heat or cool your home, you’re spending extra money to power the unit for longer periods of time. Dust and dirt can build up inside your system and can prevent air flow from efficiently and effectively reaching all the areas of your home. When your heater and air conditioner has been properly maintained and cleaned regularly, the unit has less work to

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