Is Your Attached Garage Compromising Your Indoor Air Quality?

The attached garage is a convenience that many homeowners enjoy. However, have you given much thought to the pollutants that are generated in your attached garage? Unless you implement certain preventative measures, much of the carbon monoxide, benzene and other pollutants generated from your vehicle and chemicals kept in the garage can leak into your home.

Even when you start the car with the garage door wide open, high concentrations of combustion pollutants can form in the garage and make their way into your home. Also, after returning home from an outing and turning off your car, various chemicals are emitted from the cooling engine for several hours. Other gas-powered equipment, including lawn mowers, edging tools and chain saws, add to the pollution problem.

Here’s how to prevent the pollution from your attached garage from entering your home.

Install an exhaust fan: This helps to vent the polluted air from the garage to the exterior rather than into your home. There is a minor electrical requirement for operating the fan, but this cost is well worth the cleaner air you will enjoy in your home. Plan to run the fan for an hour or two after using gas-powered equipment in the garage, including your car.

Install furnaces and water heaters inside: These mechanical systems shouldn’t be kept in the garage because they increase the chance that polluted air will be drawn into the living space.

Air-seal the garage walls: Caulk any visible gaps and cracks in the garage drywall along any wall or ceiling adjacent to the house. This helps prevent leaks from the garage to the interior of your home.

Use an automatic door closer: Garage doors accidentally left open negate your efforts to seal your home off from the attached garage. A door that closes automatically can’t be left open, even on accident.

For more information about keeping the air in your home unpolluted, despite the pollutants being generated in your attached garage, please contact Overland Park Heating & Coolingin Kansas City today.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about indoor air quality and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Overland Park Heating & Cooling services Overland Park and surrounding areas in Kansas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!