Fresh air appliances and ventilation systems—from range hoods to dryer exhaust ducts—are an essential part of preserving healthy indoor air quality and protecting homeowners and their families. But that protection requires those systems be used in the way and at the frequency that they are designed for as well as maintained properly.

Here are a few tips to follow to ensure fresh air appliances operate as they should.

1. Start from the beginning: When a new home is sold, homeowners should be made aware of all systems and how to maintain them. Ideally, builders will create a binder (in print or digital form) with instructions, reminders, and warranties for all appliances and mechanical systems. When you move into the home, review all instructions and put service reminders on your calendars. If you’re buying an existing home, inquire about manuals and instructions the previous homeowner may have had; if not available, look up every appliance, from the refrigerator to the heat pump to the bath fan, online and download instruction manuals or reach out to the manufacturer.
    
2. Use all systems as recommended: Ventilation systems can only do their jobs when used at the frequency they’re designed for. Bath fans should be turned on for every shower and left running for a short time afterward. Kitchen exhaust hoods should be used whenever you’re cooking on the stove top to help remove nitrogen dioxide from gas stoves, particulate matter from the cooking process itself, and other pollutants. Be sure to clean dryer lint filters after each use and have dryer ducts cleaned to avoid lint buildup.   
    
3. Maintain filters: Keep all filters in your HVAC systems cleaned or changed as directed by the product manufacturer. These steps are crucial to ensuring your systems operate at their most efficient, work properly, and function safely. This includes changing furnace filters, cleaning kitchen exhaust fan filters, and cleaning the grill on bath fans. Fresh air appliances also require occasional maintenance; Fantech’s ATMO 150E, for example, requires cleaning filters and checking the heat recovery core and drain pan and lines per manual directions.
    
4. Monitor intake grills: For ventilation systems with grills on the exterior, ensure they are free of obstacles; clean and brush off as seasons change.  
    
5. Leverage automated systems: Smart thermostats and VOC-sensing control systems like Fantech’s Eco-Touch Auto IAQ offer set-it-and-forget it operation, ensuring your ventilation systems operate when and how needed. Like humidity-sensing bath fans, this removes human intervention and error from the operational equation.

Just like changing the batteries on your smoke detectors and checking the pressure on your car’s tires, your heating, cooling, and ventilation systems need occasional and regular monitoring and maintenance to ensure proper and safe operation. Refer to your products’ owner’s manuals and add reminders to your household calendar to keep your systems in tip-top shape.

Click here to learn more about fresh air appliances for the home and what systems are right for each family's needs. In just 5 minutes, learn how to maintain your HERO Fresh Air Appliance.