{"id":1402,"date":"2020-04-30T11:00:08","date_gmt":"2020-04-30T15:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oasiscooling.com\/blog\/?p=1402"},"modified":"2020-04-30T11:15:15","modified_gmt":"2020-04-30T15:15:15","slug":"covid-19-air-quality-steps-to-take","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oasiscooling.com\/blog\/covid-19-air-quality-steps-to-take\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Quality COVID-19: Ensuring Healthy Air Quality in Your Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As a professional team of HVAC and indoor air quality experts, Oasis knows that we are <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">living in uniquely challenging times. W also know that you are doing all you can to care for yourself and your family\u00a0in response to\u00a0the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As an essential business,\u00a0Oasis is ready to assist homeowners like you across\u00a0Northern Virginia. If you find yourself needing immediate repairs, contact our team for emergency HVAC assistance.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As you and your\u00a0loved ones continue to practice social distancing, your home comfort and indoor air quality have never mattered more. As we spend more time indoors, the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">air quality<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and temperature can make a difference in how you feel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>5 Steps to Ensure Indoor Air Quality and Comfort<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Keep The Air Circulating in Your Home<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 It\u2019s important to keep the air circulating through your home to increase the volume of fresh and clean air. To do this, turn on the circulate feature on your thermostat to keep the air moving throughout your filtration system. This will ensure the air is flowing through the filter and getting cleaned more often. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">*If you have an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lennox.com\/products\/comfort-controls\/thermostats\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">iComfort\u00ae Ultra Smart Thermostat<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, check out <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">this video<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to see how you can adjust your fan mode.\u00a0<\/span><iframe width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KrYY7Sg-MbQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/li>\n<li><b>Replace or Upgrade Your Air Filter<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 You should make sure to change your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lennox.com\/owners\/parts-and-filters\/filters\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">filters<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on a seasonal-basis to reduce the\u00a0amount of\u00a0allergens and dust\u00a0in your air. Now is a great time to make sure your filter is clean. If your filter is not clean, consider an upgrade to a higher-efficiency filter. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When looking at air filters, you should look at the<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lennox.com\/buyers-guide\/guide-to-hvac\/glossary\/merv-rating\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MERV rating<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value. This measures how successfully it filters pollutants. The higher the MERV rating, the higher the percentage of small-sized particles that are trapped by the filter. It is these fine-sized particles (smaller than 2.5 microns) that pass through our nose unfiltered and are known to possibly cause respiratory issues.\u00a0<\/span>It\u2019s important to note that Lennox MERV16 filters contain a glass backing and should not be used to construct a mask, respirator or any application other than filtration associated with HVAC systems.\n<ul>\n<li>*High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters are regarded as the gold standard in<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">air filtration<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, because they\u2019re usually in use at hospitals. They\u2019re effective at trapping 99.97\u201399.99% of indoor pollutants, including pollen, pet dander and smoke in homes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Get\u00a0A Good Night\u2019s Sleep &#8211;<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> There\u2019s a direct correlation between your body\u2019s temperature and your sleep cycle. Research suggests that the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/health.clevelandclinic.org\/what-is-the-ideal-sleeping-temperature-for-my-bedroom\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ideal sleep condition<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0sits between 60\u00a0&#8211; 67 degrees. If that seems on the cool side, there\u2019s a reason: your core body temperature <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">drops<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to a lower level during sleep. An overly warm temperature interferes with your brain\u2019s messages that it\u2019s time to get some shut-eye.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Adjust Your Temperature for Your Fitness Routine \u2013 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As you\u2019re practicing social distancing,<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you\u2019re likely adjusting a majority of your daily routines, including how and where you exercise. Practicing traditional yoga <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/us.humankinetics.com\/blogs\/excerpt\/class-atmosphere\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">calls for a temperature<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> between 70\u00a0&#8211; 76 degrees, but you might want to raise or lower your thermostat by a few degrees depending on your personal preference. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You also want to keep in mind your home\u2019s humidity, airborne pollutants and even a general perception of how the air \u201cfeels.\u201d A good HVAC system integrated with the right indoor air quality solutions lets you control all of these factors so that your workout leaves you feeling great inside and out.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Call the Professionals<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 Whether you have questions around upgrading your air filter, seasonal maintenance, repairing or replacing your air filter in Lorton VA\u00a0and\u00a0across Northern Virginia, our dealers are here for you. Before you try to correct a system error or make a purchase on your own, contact our team<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0for an expert\u2019s opinion.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Call on Oasis and Lennox to Enhance Your Air Quality in Response to COVID-19<\/h2>\n<p>We know these are challenging times. If you need us, Oasis and Lennox are here to help in Lorton, VA, Alexandria, VA, Burke, VA and across Northern Virginia. We are fully committed to keeping your air, and your home, perfectly comfortable. Here\u2019s to home.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">*Based on in-duct testing that shows Healthy Climate<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00ae<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">filters reduce airflow restriction. Greater restriction of airflow creates a greater load on a unit\u2019s fan motor, increasing energy consumption.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As a professional team of HVAC and indoor air quality experts, Oasis knows that we are living in uniquely challenging times. W also know that you are doing all you can to care for yourself and your family\u00a0in response to\u00a0the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0 As an essential business,\u00a0Oasis is ready to assist homeowners like you across\u00a0Northern Virginia. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[152,151],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oasiscooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1402"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oasiscooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oasiscooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oasiscooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oasiscooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.oasiscooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1402\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oasiscooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oasiscooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oasiscooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}