We had all settled in our grandmother’s house and were so excited to be there.
A group of us, her grandchildren, had planned a surprise visit for the whole weekend. Everything was going well other than the fact that she was punctuating every sentence with a cough which made me ask the last time she had the HVAC equipment serviced because it could be that her indoor air quality was compromised. She admitted that it had been a whole year, and since everything was working fine, she had no cause for alarm. I called the closest home service company for a tech to check her HVAC system. The HVAC professional came later that afternoon, and the first thing he noticed was that the air filter needed to be replaced since it was almost clogged, and duct cleaning was mandatory since all the dirt that the filter could not achieve ended up in the ducts. This was why her air quality was not good and had worsened her cough in the past two months. The smart HVAC also needed a new air purification help to improve indoor comfort. My grandmother was shocked by all the work needed; she thought that because she had a whole-home air purification unit, that was all it took, and regular servicing was not required. For a house like hers, just a simple air purification system was not enough; it took more than air purification to have a habitable home. After the HVAC professional left, we did major general cleaning of the house. We enjoyed the rest of our stay, and the house felt fresher and the air cooler than before.