Indoor air quality services in Toronto

Most indoor air complaints come from three things: humidity that is too low or too high, filtration that lets fine dust through, and too little fresh air for a tight house. The table matches each common problem with its usual cause and the fix.

Summer humidity is mostly your air conditioner’s job. If the house feels clammy even when it’s cool, see our AC repair page.

Whole-home humidifier installation adds moisture to the air as it leaves your furnace, keeping the house around 30 to 40 percent humidity in winter instead of the very dry air cold weather brings. A humidistat or your thermostat controls it, so there are no tanks to fill.

On the coldest days, turn the humidity down a few points if the windows fog up.

An HRV, or heat recovery ventilator, exhausts stale air from kitchens, bathrooms and living areas and brings in fresh outdoor air, passing both streams through a core that moves heat from one to the other. In winter it recovers much of the heat that would otherwise leave with the exhaust.

Many newer homes in Toronto and the GTA already have an HRV that just needs servicing. A clogged core, dirty filters or an unbalanced unit can leave the house stuffy even with the HRV running. HRV installation in an older home usually ties into the furnace ductwork.

An HRV transfers heat between the stale and fresh air streams, while an ERV, or energy recovery ventilator, transfers heat and some moisture. In Toronto, an HRV suits homes that tend toward high winter humidity and window condensation, and an ERV suits homes that get too dry in winter or too humid in summer.

A MERV rating, from 1 to 16, measures how well a filter catches particles; higher numbers trap finer dust, pollen and smoke. For most Toronto homes, a MERV 8 to 13 filter in a deep media cabinet balances clean air and good airflow better than a thin, high-MERV filter squeezed into a 1-inch slot.

Too much restriction can overheat the furnace or freeze the AC coil, so we check airflow first.

An air purifier for furnace systems, meaning a media filter cabinet or a HEPA bypass unit, cleans the air in the whole house every time the blower runs. It’s worth it if anyone has allergies or asthma, you have pets, or wildfire smoke reaches Toronto in summer, since one unit replaces portable purifiers in every room.

HEPA filtration catches the finest particles, but a true HEPA filter is too restrictive to sit in the furnace itself, so it runs on a bypass loop. For most households a good media cabinet does the bulk of the work, and it needs changing only once or twice a year.

Smart thermostat installation is simple when the thermostat matches your system and the wiring supports it. We check for a common wire, confirm the model works with your equipment, whether that’s a two-stage furnace, a heat pump with backup heat or a boiler, and set up the schedule with you.

We’ll install a smart thermostat you already bought as long as it’s compatible. Some models can also run a humidifier, an HRV or the furnace fan on a schedule. ENERGY STAR Canada (opens in a new tab) lists certified smart thermostats if you’re still choosing one.

Duct cleaning can help after a renovation, a pest problem or visible debris in the vents, but it rarely fixes dust, allergy or comfort problems on its own. We can look at your ducts during a visit and advise whether cleaning is likely to help, or whether better filtration and sealing would do more.

Hot and cold rooms on the same floor are usually an airflow problem. We balance ductwork and add returns where needed, which often helps the upper floor of a two-storey Toronto home.

Every visit for indoor air quality services in Toronto starts with what you’re noticing, then a look at your furnace, filter, ducts, humidity and ventilation. The technician explains the cause, recommends the equipment or adjustment that fixes it, and gives you a flat-rate price before any work starts.

• Tell us what you’ve noticed by phone or form, such as dry air, condensation or dust
• We confirm a two-hour arrival window and text when the technician is on the way
• The technician checks the furnace, filter slot, ductwork, humidity and any existing HRV
• Nothing is installed until you approve the price
• Afterwards we set the controls and explain filter or pad changes

Healthy indoor air is also free of carbon monoxide. Ontario requires CO alarms in homes with fuel-burning appliances such as gas furnaces, boilers, water heaters and fireplaces, and the province’s carbon monoxide safety page (opens in a new tab) explains where they go. Test them regularly.

In tight homes, strong exhaust fans can pull air back down a chimney used by an older water heater or furnace. A balanced HRV helps, and our TSSA-certified gas technicians check venting and combustion on every gas appliance we service.

The cost of indoor air quality services in Toronto depends on the equipment you choose, how it connects to your furnace and ductwork, and how much work the installation takes. After we assess your home you get a flat-rate price for the job, and it doesn’t change halfway through.

Indoor air quality equipment only works if it’s maintained. Replace the humidifier pad each season, change a media filter once or twice a year, and clean the HRV or ERV core and filters on the maker’s schedule. Our maintenance plan can fold these checks into your furnace and AC tune-ups.