How to Make Sure You’re Breathing Clean Air

We’ve talked about the importance of indoor air quality on the blog before and felt valuable to revisit one of our favorite products that helps promote clean air. In this blog post, we’ll provide a brief review of why indoor air quality is important and then share all of the benefits of our favorite indoor air quality product—electrostatic filters.

Why care about indoor air quality?

We’ve shared before how the main things that affect our health (other than genetics) are the things we eat, the things we drink, and the things we breathe. Here in New Mexico, we’re thankful to have access to clean water (even if we need to add a water softener to our plumbing or prefer buying bottled water). And hopefully, you take advantage of the opportunities to eat healthy foods as often as possible. At the very least, most of us are fortunate enough to have the option to make healthier decisions about the food we eat. But what about the air you breathe?

There is more that you can do to improve the air you breathe than you might think. And while we don’t have as many external issues as other places around the world with air pollution, you’d be surprised how many toxins can be in the air in your own home.

These toxins can come from paint, new furniture, new carpet or other flooring, glues, stains, and more (know was VOCs). But it’s not only toxins that can affect your indoor air quality. Pet dander, allergens, viruses, bacteria, smoke, dirt, hair, and more can all travel through the air. All of these things affect the air we breathe in our homes, and in turn, our health.

The Power of Electrostatic Air Filters

At Bosque Heating, Cooling and Plumbing, we are big fans of the company SolaceAir, and particularly their electrostatic filters. On their website, they refer to them as Whole House High-Efficiency Air Cleaners, and that’s really what they are. They slide right into the existing filter tracks on your current furnace, so you don’t need to invest in costly ductwork or bulky, freestanding air purifiers to get whole-home results.

How do electrostatic filters work?

This type of air filter uses electronic polarized media technology—establishing a polarized electric field that the air passes through. This polarization causes even the smallest particles in the air to cling to the media in the filter. These filters capture particles down to .3 microns, capturing 97% of particles in the air.

The comparison to a regular paper filter you could buy at the hardware store is not even a contest. Those passive air filters only capture 6% of particles in the air, mainly large particles like hair and dirt. Bacteria, viruses (including COVID-19), pollen, pet dander, and other allergens pass right through them. And, while some filters are advertised a being more heavy-duty, the increased thickness of the filter really only causes your furnace to work harder to pass the air through it.

With an electrostatic filter, you can be sure the air passing through your furnace is continually cleaned of toxins and particles in the home.

The SolaceAir electrostatic filters are as effective as breathing through an N95 mask, which we are all well aware of now, are the best at filtering contaminates out of the air. So installing this type of filter is one of the most effective things you can do to bring cleaner air to your home. And according to SolaceAir’s website, they 

“remove mold’s food source, [have a] 97% capture rate at .3 microns, removes breathable particulates, and trap odors and VOC’s (volatile organic compounds).”

Clean Air for Your Home

If you’ve been wondering how you can ensure the air in your home is more pure, Bosque Heating, Cooling and Plumbing is here to help. While electrostatic filters are a cost-effective way to start, we also have other lines of defense if you have people in your home who are immunocompromised or have severe allergies.

We can come out and install an electrostatic filter at any time, or in tandem with a fall or spring maintenance visit. These filters have a higher price point than the filters you can pick up at the hardware store, but they also last a lot longer, and like we discussed their superiority to a paper filter is not even comparable! If you still have questions, we’d love to hear from you!