The sources of unpleasant household odors can run the gamut from cigarette smoke and mold to pets and overpowering cooking smells. Fortunately, there are indoor air quality products that can keep your home smelling fresh and clean year-round—replacing the need for candles, plug-ins, or air fresheners for a quick fix.

Next to opening a window and letting in fresh air, a ventilator is the best way to solve an odor problem. Like an air exchanger, a ventilator can remove lingering odors and stale, polluted air by replacing it with pre-filtered outdoor air. With our longer, colder winter season and relatively low summer humidity, heat recovery ventilators work out better than energy recovery ventilators for most Wisconsin homes.

Another way to reduce odors: change your furnace air filter frequently to keep the air fresh—even the least expensive filter is effective if it’s changed regularly. And consider upgrading to HEPA-quality filters, which may need to be changed more frequently but will pull more dirt, smoke, and dust out of the air before it circulates throughout your home.

You can reduce odor-causing contaminants like bacteria, animal dander and saliva, and mold with germicidal UV lamps and lights, attached to your heating and cooling system. Designed to drench your cooling coil with intense ultraviolet light that sterilizes coil surfaces, this technology kills off mold, bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants that circulate into your air.

Consult a HVAC professional like Carrier dealer New Berlin Heating if you have questions.

More information here:

www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2008/01/q-a-can-air-purifiers-get-rid-of-household-odors/index.htm