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The Dangers of Black Mold

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Excess humidity leads to black mold

 

High levels of moisture present a dangerous situation for homeowners and in some severe cases may result in black mold. There are limited warnings that a home has black mold except for musty smells and respiratory symptoms such as coughing and sneezing. It results, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from constant exposure to moisture from water leaks or floods or and grows on fiberboards and drywall. Homes with wallpaper may be at a higher risk since the covering can trap moisture.

 

Symptoms for Black Mold

 

Medical professionals have not determined specific health issues with black mold, but there have been reports associating it with asthma in children, lethargy, and memory loss. For normally healthy adults, the symptoms are typical of a respiratory infection, including coughing, wheezing, and sneezing.

 

Waterproofing

 

Due to the risks associated with excess humidity, it is important to test each home with a hygrometer. For those who have or are prone to excess humidity, let them know their solutions like waterproofing their basement or crawlspace and adding a dehumidifier.

 

While waterproofing may prevent excess moisture from seeping into the home, a dehumidifier can remove any excess moisture from building up from daily activities like showering, laundry, and washing the dishes. Dehumidifiers also help protect the home from other issues due to excess moisture including rotting wood, pests, and indoor allergens, among other airborne irritants.

 

AprilAire Dehumidifiers

 

AprilAire Dehumidifiers have an easy-to-read digital display to make monitoring humidity easy. ENERGY STARⓇ recently named the 1870 line of whole-home dehumidifiers its Most Efficient 2020 – the first time a whole-home dehumidifier received this certification.

 

AprilAire Dehumidifiers also come equipped with a 5-year warranty and are designed and manufactured in the United States. This lets homeowners know that you are installing a quality healthy air solution that will effectively remove moisture from the home and prevent mold growth in their home.

 

For more information about the benefits of installing an AprilAire Dehumidifier in the home, go to the dehumidifiers’ products benefits page on AprilAire Partners. You will also find a broad range of applications and installation options for AprilAire Dehumidifiers.

 

Healthy Humidity

AprilAire at AHR Day Two: Talking Humidifiers with David and Damian

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Day two at AHR was bustling and full of great conversations, many of which were focused on humidifiers. We’re certainly well known for this product line and we definitely love to talk about them. It’s always a good idea to talk about them to your customers since there’s never any shortage of problems that humidifiers can solve. Watch the video above with HVAC Channel Sales Manager David Voight and Product Manager Damian Mannino to see more about what we’re talking about at AHR this year.

Healthy Humidity

AprilAire at AHR Day Three: Spotlight on Dehumidifiers

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In yesterday’s video, David and Damian discussed the AprilAire humidifier models that we had on display at AHR. Today, we’re going to put the spotlight on our dehumidifiers – yet another effective solution for problems that homeowners face in regards to health and comfort in their homes. Watch the video above and pick up some great talking points that you should share with your customers.

Need more technical or sales support on any of our product lines? If you’re not already a member of the AprilAire Partners in Comfort program, you should join today — there’s tons of technical information for you to when you need it, great sales tools to help you grow your business, and much more!

Healthy Clean Air | Healthy Fresh Air

The Growing Need for HVAC Solutions in the Face of Allergy Season

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As an HVAC contractor, you’re no stranger to the challenges posed by seasonal allergies for your homeowners. However, what you may not realize is that the worsening allergy season is not just a personal inconvenience but a symptom of a larger issue—climate change.

 

With temperatures rising consistently year after year, pollen seasons are becoming longer and more intense. Recent studies indicate a significant shift in the duration and intensity of allergy seasons, with pollen counts soaring to record levels.

 

Amidst these changing environmental conditions, homeowners are seeking relief. As an HVAC contractor, you can offer solutions beyond conventional symptom management. By providing tailored HVAC systems and services, you can help homeowners adapt their indoor environment to minimize the impact of allergens.

 

Addressing the Root Cause

While medications offer temporary relief, they fail to address the underlying issue of Indoor Air Quality. You can implement solutions that tackle the root cause of allergies—poor IAQ.

 

Temporary allergy relief is neither sustainable nor cost-effective for homeowners – spending up to $16,000 on treatments in their lifetime, there’s a clear need to shift focus toward addressing the root cause. By advocating for proactive solutions like Healthy Air, homeowners can invest in long-term relief from allergy symptoms while ensuring the health and productivity of everyone in the home, all while avoiding the financial strain of continuous temporary treatment.

 

Ready to Deliver Healthy Air?

What key steps can you take to reduce seasonal allergy symptoms for homeowners and protect them from the dangers of poor Indoor Air Quality? Discover our top Healthy Air solutions:

 

AprilAire Whole-House Fresh Air Ventilation

Indoor air is often five times more polluted than the air outside. With an AprilAire Whole-House Fresh Air Ventilation System, airborne contaminants in the home can be diluted as it brings fresh air into the home.

 

AprilAire Whole-House Air Purification

Designed to trap and eliminate common airborne pollutants, like pollen and dust, an AprilAire Whole-House Air Purifier protects the home while extending the life of their current HVAC system.

 

AprilAire MERV 16 Air Filters

Install the gold standard of air filters! AprilAire MERV 16 Air Filters clear the air by capturing up to 99%* of allergy and asthma triggers.

 

AprilAire is Healthy Air

As HVAC contractors, you’re on the front lines of ensuring our homes are havens of clean air. With longer and stronger allergy seasons predicted, the American Lung Association emphasizes that climate change is a significant health emergency. Not only are allergy seasons getting worse, but wildfires and flooding are making it even more difficult to maintain clean air indoors.

 

Despite these challenges, you can help homeowners take crucial steps to protect their homes, families, and budgets. AprilAire whole-house Healthy Air solutions not only enhance Indoor Air Quality but also offer these transformative benefits:

 

  • Better sleep
  • Reduced illness
  • Alleviated allergies
  • Increased home value
  • Improved energy efficiency

 

Contact your local AprilAire distributor to order AprilAire Healthy Air solutions. Need help locating your AprilAire distributor? Visit our distributor locator.

 

*Contaminants removed based on air passing through the filtering system.

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Total Home Performance Provides Solutions Based on Building Science

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Total Home Performance, located on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, utilizes a science-based, top-down approach in creating healthy homes for its clients. They see their customers as their neighbors, utilizing a no-pressure sales technique to provide the best solution, not just the one that’s going to make the biggest impact on the bottom line. They provide an informative and visual-based process that walks the homeowner through any issues they’ve spotted and how they can be addressed based on the latest building science principles.

Total Home Performance Grows Steadily

Over the last 13 years, Total Home has steadily grown from an energy audit service to a full-service home performance contractor. While its growth has led to expanded expertise, more employees, and more infrastructure, the company has remained true to its humble roots to make a positive impact on the lives of homeowners they service. Many of the company’s employees have been with them since the beginning, creating a unique family atmosphere that leaves owner Matthew Hargrove proud.

“We are a true family here. We have committed our lives to this business…We feel very fortunate and proud to not only be supporting this amount of people but providing this type of work that is of such great benefit to our customers.”

Like many other home performance contractors, Total Home Performance has seen increased demand for its services since the COVID-19 pandemic. More homeowners are concerned about their home’s indoor air quality and if their home is making them sick.

Healthy Home Assessments Help Homeowners

As a result, Total Home Performance began offering healthy home assessments to evaluate the health and safety issues that could be negatively impacting homeowners. This begins with a visual inspection of the property to identify things like moisture, mold, pest intrusion, or other potential contaminants. Based on this inspection, they can perform specific tests for things like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), mold, and moisture to pinpoint the root cause and lay out a plan to eradicate these issues.

Humidity control is especially vital for many homeowners along the eastern shore since they butt up against the Chesapeake Bay and other inlets leaving them vulnerable to the impacts of excess humidity like mold, mildew, discomfort, and structural damage.

The Big Three

The Total Home team also shores up any poorly insulated areas ensuring the home is energy-efficient and protected from whatever mother nature may throw its way. Sealing up the house also helps create a perfect structure for Total Home Performance to apply, what Hargrove calls “The Big Three”—ventilation, filtration, and moisture management strategy—which helps eliminate household viruses, VOCs, and other health issues within the home.

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AprilAire, the Leader in Healthy Air Solutions, Reduces by 66% Environmental Impact of Dehumidifiers

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MADISON, Wis. (March 25, 2024) – AprilAire, the leader in whole-house Healthy Air solutions, announces it is once again advancing its Dehumidifier lineup to be more intuitive, easy to connect, simple to use and maintain, and environmentally friendly.

 

Customers fuel the AprilAire passion to continually raise the bar. In 2024, AprilAire is excited to phase in the following new features and benefits to its market-leading Dehumidifier product offering:

 

First, and most significantly, AprilAire is upgrading the refrigerant in its Dehumidifiers to reduce by 66% the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of all the models in its lineup. The transition to R32 is underway and projected to wrap up across the full product line by year-end.

 

Look for this seal on AprilAire Dehumidifier packaging to indicate the product is more environmentally friendly and contains the refrigerant R32.

 

 

In addition, AprilAire continues to make its Dehumidifiers easier to use and maintain by eliminating the On/Off switch in non-hardwired models, as well as introducing a new, tool-less filter door in the E080 and E100 models.

 

“Customers will continue to experience the same superior product performance and reliability they have come to expect from AprilAire Dehumidifiers. By providing a more environmentally friendly product, we strengthen our brand leverage in the whole-home category and retain our position as the leader in delivering best-in-class Healthy Air solutions to dehumidify homes,” said Katie Zagorski, AprilAire Senior Product Manager, Dehumidification.

 

About AprilAire

 

AprilAire is on a mission to make homes healthy. We believe everyone deserves Healthy Air and envision a future with Healthy Air in every home. Headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin since 1954, AprilAire has been creating and delivering Healthy Air solutions to manage air purity, humidity, fresh air supply, temperature, and mitigate radon and viruses in all types of homes, and all environments. We have an unparalleled reputation as the brand of choice among tens of thousands of professional contractors and make a Healthy Air difference in the lives of the millions of families who rely on our products every day. To learn how to turn a house into a Healthy Home with the AprilAire Healthy Air System® visit www.aprilaire.com.