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Indoor Air Quality Services in Ottawa
Filtration, Ventilation and Humidity Control That Actually Works
Ottawa homes spend most of the year sealed shut. Six months of heating season, then a summer of running the air conditioning with the windows closed. Whatever is in your indoor air stays in your indoor air. Indoor air quality work covers three things that matter: filtering what is circulating, bringing in fresh air without throwing away the heat, and holding humidity in a sensible range. Call (613) 266-9742 and we will tell you which of the three your house actually needs.
Just Air
Our Position on Indoor Air Quality Products
This corner of the industry is full of expensive products that do very little, and we have taken a clear position on it. We will not offer you a UV air filtration system, because we have concluded it does not provide any advantages. That has been on our contact page for years and it has cost us sales. We would rather keep it there. What we will recommend is proper filtration, controlled ventilation and correct humidity, in that order, because those three are what actually change the air in a house.
filtration
Air Filtration and HEPA Filters
The filter in most furnaces is there to protect the equipment, not to clean your air. A one inch fibreglass filter catches lint and hair and lets almost everything else through.
Better filtration means a deeper media filter with more surface area, sized so it does not choke airflow. Pleat depth, MERV rating and the size of the filter cabinet all have to work with the blower you have. Dropping the highest rated filter you can find into an existing slot is a common mistake that starves the system and can damage the heat exchanger.
We size the filtration to the equipment. If a whole-home HEPA setup is the right fit for your household, we install those too. See our HEPA filter installation page for the detail.
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humidity
Humidity Control Through an Ottawa Year
Ottawa gives you both extremes. Winter air is bone dry once it is heated, and July is humid enough that the basement smells like it.
Winter, too dry: static shocks, cracked lips, dry throats in the morning, split hardwood and gaps opening in trim. A whole-house humidifier tied into the ductwork holds the level where it should be instead of you refilling a portable unit twice a day. See our whole-house humidifier page.
Summer, too humid: a clammy feeling at a temperature that should be comfortable, condensation, musty basements. A properly sized air conditioner removes a good deal of moisture as it runs. An oversized one does not, because it satisfies the thermostat before it has run long enough to dehumidify. That is one more reason sizing matters, and it is covered on our cooling page.
ventilation
Fresh Air and Ventilation
A tight, well-sealed house is efficient, and it also traps everything you generate indoors: cooking moisture, shower steam, off-gassing from finishes and furniture, and carbon dioxide from the people living in it.
Opening a window in February solves it and throws your heat out at the same time. Balanced mechanical ventilation is the alternative: it exhausts stale indoor air, brings in an equal volume of outdoor air, and transfers heat between the two streams so you keep most of the energy you already paid for.
If your home already has a ventilation unit, it needs the same care as any other piece of equipment: filters cleaned, core cleaned, drain checked and the airflow balanced. Neglected units get shut off by frustrated homeowners and then the house has no ventilation at all.
Talk to us about what your home has and whether it is doing its job.
where to start
Where to Start With Indoor Air Quality
You do not need everything at once. In most Ottawa homes the order looks like this:
- Fix the basics. A clean, correctly sized filter changed on schedule, and a furnace and air conditioner that are actually serviced. Most complaints stop here.
- Sort out humidity. Dry winter air is the single most common comfort complaint we hear in Ottawa, and it is straightforward to fix.
- Upgrade filtration if someone in the house has allergies or asthma, or if there are pets.
- Add or repair ventilation if the house is tight, windows fog up, or the air feels stale.
Related pages: HEPA filter installation, whole-house humidifiers, duct and dryer vent cleaning, heating services and cooling services.
for customers
Frequently Asked Questions
What actually improves indoor air quality in a home?
Three things, in this order: filtration sized correctly for your equipment, humidity held in a sensible range through both seasons, and enough fresh air coming in without wasting the heat you paid for. Most of the add-on gadgets sold alongside those three do far less than the marketing suggests.
Why will you not install a UV air filtration system?
Because we have concluded it does not provide any real advantage for a typical home, and we are not willing to sell something we do not believe in. That position is published on our contact page. If you want a second opinion we will happily explain our reasoning rather than just quoting you a price.
What MERV rating should my furnace filter be?
The highest rating your system can handle without restricting airflow, which is not the same as the highest rating on the shelf. A thick pleated media filter in a properly sized cabinet gives you good filtration and low resistance. A high MERV filter jammed into a one inch slot chokes the blower and can cause real damage.
Why is my house so dry in winter?
Cold outdoor air holds very little moisture, and heating it drives the relative humidity down further. That is why January indoor air feels desert dry. A whole-house humidifier plumbed into the ductwork is the practical fix, and it holds a steady level instead of you chasing it with portable units.
Do air purifiers help with allergies?
Better whole-home filtration usually helps more than a portable purifier, because it treats every cubic foot of air the system moves rather than one room. Pair it with humidity control and regular equipment maintenance. Call (613) 266-9742 and describe the symptoms and we will tell you what is likely to help.
How often should I change my furnace filter?
A one inch filter needs checking monthly and changing every one to three months, sooner with pets or during renovation work. A four or five inch media filter typically lasts six months to a year. Hold it up to a light: if you cannot see light through it, it is done.
