Breathe easier, Lebanon
We install filtration, humidity control and ventilation equipment in Lebanon, Ohio. We measure humidity, particulates and ventilation before recommending anything. Most calls get handled the same day, and someone answers the emergency line at any hour.
Filtration, purification, and humidity control for allergy season, dry winters, and everything the Cincinnati-area air brings inside.
Matched to your air, not a catalog.
What do UV lights in the ductwork actually do?
Two quite different jobs get sold under one name. A coil light aimed at the evaporator keeps growth off a surface that is wet for half the year, and that one has a straightforward case: it keeps a coil clean and it keeps the musty smell down. An air-stream light is meant to treat organizms as they pass, and air moves quickly, so contact time is short and the benefit is much harder to demonstrate. If someone is quoting UV, ask which of the two it is and what it is being asked to fix.
What actually helps with allergies at home?
In rough order of effect: keep humidity between about 35 and 50%, upgrade to real media filtration sized for the system rather than a denser one-inch filter, deal with the source where you can, and only then look at added equipment. Bedrooms matter more than the rest of the house because of how many hours are spent in them. Nothing here is dramatic on its own, and the combination usually is, which is the opposite of how air quality equipment tends to be sold.
The basement smells musty and it is spreading upstairs.
Basements run cooler, so humid summer air condenses down there, and anything the air handler pulls in gets distributed to the whole house. Measure the relative humidity before doing anything else. Above about 60% the answer is dehumidification and finding where the water is coming from, not air freshening. Check the obvious sources first: grading and downspouts outside, an uninsulated cold-water line sweating, and a condensate drain that is discharging where it should not.
Does cooking really affect indoor air that much?
More than most people expect, particularly with gas. Cooking puts fine particles and combustion byproducts straight into the room, and a range hood that recirculates through a charcoal filter rather than venting outside does very little about it. Use the hood every time and check that it actually vents outdoors. If it does not, opening a window while cooking does more than any purifier will, and it costs nothing.