Can Your Furnace Help You Stay Healthy This Winter? Experts Say Yes!

If there is one part of the body that is really in the limelight this year, it would have to be the lungs.

We are all talking about them, thinking about them and trying to do everything we can to keep toxic or infectious particles out of them!

Despite our best intentions and efforts however, COVID-19 cases are on the rise again in Ontario.

And now we are heading into another long, cold, dry Canadian winter, with cold and flu season still up ahead.

What does all this have to do with your furnace? As it turns out, your furnace can become your ally in keeping your lungs clean, strong and healthy this winter - read on to find out how! 

If Your Furnace Is Dirty, So Are Your Lungs

We now know that COVID-19 is airborne. We recently also learned that just wearing masks and observing social distancing is still not enough protection against catching the virus.

The American Lung Association states that there is a direct link between residential heating emissions and lung health.

In other words, a dirty furnace equals dirty lungs.

This year, taking time to schedule your annual preventative furnace maintenance can do more than prevent an untimely and expensive mid-winter heating outage. This one small choice can potentially make the difference between catching COVID-19 and staying healthy.

A poorly maintained furnace can potentially emit a toxic cocktail of volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide and airborne particulate solids.

This is especially the case with gas furnace systems, but is still an issue with all types of HVAC systems.

Inhaling these toxic emissions can lead to a wide variety of well-documented respiratory health symptoms including wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing, inflammation of the respiratory passages, asthma attacks, chest constriction and decreased lung function.

If Your Furnace Has Clean Lungs, You Have Cleaner Lungs

Research studies have confirmed we are more stressed now than we were at this time last year.

As stress levels go up, so do levels of infection and illness.

This has many of us grasping at straws for something - anything - to do to protect ourselves and our families.

Rising stress can also cause us to overlook the obvious fix we can take care of right now.

That fix is your furnace filter.

If your lungs are the filters of your body, then your furnace's air filter is the lungs of your HVAC system.

It is true there has been some ongoing concern about how to safely handle air filter changes during the global pandemic, but the general consensus now is that it is much safer to change your air filter regularly than to leave it in place for too long.

The reason for this is simple: COVID-19 is airborne. The more solid particles floating in your indoor air, the more transported airborne coronavirus droplets have to attach to. So, the cleaner your indoor air remains, the fewer vehicles those droplets have to reach you!

Best practices state that you should use the highest quality furnace filter that your HVAC system is rated to operate with. This will keep particles like dust, dirt, ash, pollen and pet dander out of your furnace and out of your indoor air supply. 

Then you can add a standalone HEPA filtration system and/or an ultraviolet air purification system to work with your existing furnace.

Change out your furnace filter at least every 30 days or more frequently as needed. Bi-Temp in Belleville, Ontario can provide you with the highest quality furnace filter for your HVAC system. Contact our qualified technicians today for more information!

What to Expect When You Schedule Preventative Furnace Maintenance Service

Preventative furnace maintenance service is designed to achieve three big goals:

1. Give your furnace a thorough exterior and interior cleaning.

2. Make minor tune-ups and repairs to prevent a major repair or sudden outage.

3. Ensure your furnace is operating safely and efficiently.

Amazingly, all three of these goals can typically be achieved in a service call of one hour or less, but scheduling preventative furnace maintenance also achieves a fourth, less visible goal. A goal that National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director, Dr. Anthony Fauci, states could be the most important goal of all for fighting COVID-19 this winter.

Simply put, it gives you peace of mind.

When your peace of mind increases, your stress level decreases.

And when your stress level decreases, your immune functionality improves.

The moment your preventative furnace maintenance service concludes, you will know you have a furnace that is clean, safe and economical to use. You can breathe a sigh of relief - literally.

Other Indoor Air Quality Aids for a Safer Winter

These are additional safety precautions you can take to improve the quality of your indoor air.

1. Don't bring airborne toxins into your home.

Smoking or vaping, burning candles or incense, using commercial cleaners or so-called "air fresheners" and chemical-laden personal care products are not going to be friends to your lungs this winter.

2. Install a whole-home or portable HEPA air filter.

HEPA stands for high efficiency particulate air. A portable or whole-home HEPA air filter can remove even the smallest airborne aerosol infectious coronavirus droplets.

Contact Bi-Temp in Quinte for the highest quality HEPA air filters for your heating system this winter.

3. Add a portable or whole-home ultraviolet air purifier.

Ultraviolet air purification mimics the protection offered by our own su, but inside your space. These systems use a synthetic form of the most powerful band of natural ultraviolet light - UV-C.

When UV light comes into contact with airborne or aerosol coronavirus droplets, the light damages the viral RNA so it can no longer replicate to infect you and your family.

Are you interested in installing a portable or whole home ultraviolet air purifier? Contact Bi-Temp in Belleville today for the highest quality UV Air Purifier options. 

Get in Touch With Bi-Temp LTD. In Belleville

Click here to schedule your preventative annual furnace maintenance and tune-up with Bi-Temp. We now offer safe, contactless service, invoicing and payment options.

Looking for affordable hot water heater rentals, HVAC repairs or commercial HVAC services? Give our friendly and highly qualified Bi-Temp technicians a call at 1-613-967-1066 or come visit us online.