Indoor Air Quality · Liberty Hill, TX

Indoor Air Quality, Done Without the Sales Pitch

UV lights, air scrubbers, electronic air cleaners, whole-home humidifiers, antimicrobial duct fogging. Indoor air quality is the most over-sold category in HVAC. Half the products work great, half are gimmicks, and most companies push whichever pays the highest commission. We sell what actually helps for your situation - and tell you the rest you don't need.

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UV-C
Coil Lights & Air Scrubbers
EPA
Registered Foggers Only
MERV13
Filter Upgrades Available
30-50%
Target Indoor Humidity
Indoor Air Quality, Defined

It's More Than "Just Allergies"

Indoor air quality, or IAQ, is shorthand for everything you're breathing inside your house that isn't oxygen and nitrogen. It breaks down into four buckets: particles you can see (dust, pet dander, pollen), particles you can't (mold spores, bacteria, viruses), gases (VOCs from paint, cooking, off-gassing furniture, formaldehyde from cabinetry), and humidity - too much or too little.

No single product addresses all four. The IAQ industry's biggest sin is selling one shiny box as the answer to everything. UV lights don't catch dust. HEPA filtration doesn't kill viruses. A dehumidifier won't touch pollen. A real solution is usually a stack: better filtration, plus targeted disinfection, plus humidity control - sized to your house and your actual symptoms.

The other reason this gets oversold: every IAQ product carries fat margin and easy upsells. Most homes don't need every category. They need two or three, picked for their specific situation. That's the conversation we want to have - not "which package do you want."

1
Visible particlesDust, dander, pollen, fiber, lint. Removed by filtration - MERV rating matters.
2
Microscopic biologicalsMold spores, bacteria, viruses. Inactivated by UV-C, captured by high-MERV filtration.
3
Gases and odorsVOCs, formaldehyde, cooking and pet odors. Addressed by carbon filtration and ventilation.
4
HumidityToo high = dust mites, mold, that clammy feeling. Too low = static, dry skin, sinus issues. Target: 30-50%.
Why Texas Is Different

Central Texas Air Is Its Own Beast

Cedar fever, mountain juniper, agricultural dust, oak pollen, summer humidity, and 9-month cooling seasons that pull every speck of attic air through your ductwork. The Hill Country throws more at indoor air quality than most regions of the country.

#1

Cedar fever capital

Ashe juniper pollen from December through February drives one of the highest seasonal allergy rates in the U.S. Central Texas measures it in the tens of thousands of grains per cubic meter on bad days.

60%

Summer humidity baseline

Even with the AC running, Hill Country summer humidity routinely sits at 55-70% indoors without dedicated control. That's where mold loves to live and dust mites thrive.

9mo

Cooling-season run time

Texas HVAC systems run far more hours per year than systems in most states. That means your ductwork is moving air - and whatever's in it - constantly.

130°F

Attic temperatures

Your air handler and most ducting sit in an attic that hits 130-150°F in summer. Heat plus humidity plus organic dust equals biological growth potential on every coil and duct surface.

What We Install

Indoor Air Quality Solutions, Plain English

Six categories of indoor air quality equipment we install and service. Each one does something specific. None of them is a magic bullet, and we'll tell you upfront which ones make sense for your house.

UV-C Disinfection

UV Lights & Air Scrubbers

Germicidal UV-C lamps installed inside the air handler. The most reliable application is a coil light aimed at the evaporator coil - it keeps mold and biofilm from growing on the wet coil itself, where 130-degree attics meet condensation. Air-stream "scrubber" lights treat air as it passes the bulb. Both have a role, neither is a HEPA filter.

  • Coil-targeted UV stops biological growth at the source
  • Reduces musty AC smells and keeps coil efficient longer
  • Inactivates bacteria, viruses, and mold spores at sufficient exposure
  • Low-ozone bulbs only - we won't install ozone-generating units
UV-C / Scrubbers Coming soon
Electronic Air Cleaners

Electronic Air Cleaners & Air Purifiers

Whole-home electronic air cleaners install in the return duct and use an electrostatic charge to grab particles your filter alone misses - down into the sub-micron range where pollen, smoke, and fine dust live. Different physics than a paper filter, and they don't restrict airflow the way a high-MERV media filter can on a system that wasn't built for it.

  • Captures particles down to 0.3 microns and smaller
  • Washable collector cells - no replacement filter cost
  • No added static pressure on systems with marginal blower capacity
  • Strong fit for cedar fever, smoke season, pet households
Electronic Air Cleaners Coming soon
Air Treatment

High-MERV Media Filtration

The cheapest and most overlooked indoor air quality upgrade is a real 4 or 5-inch media filter cabinet with a MERV 13 or 16 filter, in place of the flimsy 1-inch panel filter most homes ship with. MERV 13 captures most pollen, dander, mold spores, and a decent chunk of viral-sized particles. We size the cabinet to your blower's static pressure so it doesn't choke the system.

  • MERV 13 captures particles down to 1 micron at high efficiency
  • 4-inch filter cabinets last 6-12 months between changes
  • Static pressure verified after install - no airflow penalty
  • The most cost-effective IAQ upgrade in the entire catalog
Media Filtration Coming soon
Humidity Control

Whole-Home Humidifiers & Dehumidifiers

Central Texas summer humidity drives more comfort complaints than people realize - a house at 72°F and 65% humidity feels worse than the same house at 74°F and 45%. Whole-home dehumidifiers integrated into your HVAC pull the moisture your AC can't. In winter, our dry stretches can drop indoor humidity into the teens, where bypass or steam humidifiers add it back. Target range is 30-50% year-round.

  • Dehumidifier sized to your home's actual moisture load
  • Works alongside the AC, not against it
  • Set point control - you decide the target humidity
  • Reduces dust mites, mold growth, and AC run time in summer
Humidifiers / Dehumidifiers Coming soon
Antimicrobial Service

Sanitizing Duct Fogging

Aerosolized EPA-registered antimicrobial sprayed through the duct system to neutralize bacteria, mold spores, and viral particles on the inner duct walls and equipment surfaces. It's not a substitute for cleaning visibly dirty ducts - it's the disinfection step that follows. Strong fit for post-water-event treatment, post-illness sanitization, allergy households, and any system that's never been treated.

  • EPA-registered biocide only - we won't fog with anything off-list
  • Whole-system treatment in 1-2 hours
  • Pairs well with a UV coil light to keep results lasting
  • No residue, no occupancy restriction after the safe re-entry interval
Duct Fogging Coming soon
Fresh Air

Mechanical Ventilation & ERVs

Modern homes are sealed tighter than older ones - which is great for the energy bill and terrible for fresh air. Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERVs) bring in measured outdoor air, exhaust stale indoor air, and recover most of the temperature and humidity in the exchange. The right answer for tight new builds, large families, or anyone whose house feels stuffy by evening.

  • Continuous fresh-air introduction with energy recovery
  • Removes accumulated VOCs, CO2, and cooking byproducts
  • Code-required on many new builds for a reason
  • Filtered outdoor air - pollen and dust stay out
Ventilation / ERVs Coming soon
Our Approach

How We Figure Out What You Actually Need

We refuse to walk in with a one-size-fits-all package. Picking the right indoor air quality solution starts with three questions - and ends with a recommendation that fits.

1

What are you actually noticing

Allergies hitting harder this year? Musty smell when the AC kicks on? Dust on every surface? Sticky humid feeling even when the AC runs? Each symptom points to a different solution category. We start by listening.

2

What's your house like

Age of the system, type of filtration in place, attic conditions, ductwork condition, square footage, family size, pets, location. The right IAQ stack for a 3,200-sf Liberty Hill home with two dogs isn't the same as for a 1,400-sf Cedar Park condo.

3

What's the honest budget

Some IAQ upgrades pay for themselves in comfort within a season. Some are nice but optional. We rank our recommendations by impact-per-dollar so you can start with what matters most and add later if you want.

Indoor Air Quality Q&A

Common Questions, Answered Straight

Do UV lights in the air handler actually work?
For their best application - mounted on the evaporator coil - yes, very well. They keep the wet coil from growing mold and biofilm, which is the most common source of that musty AC smell every Central Texas homeowner knows. For airborne disinfection as air passes the bulb, the picture is more limited - the EPA notes contact time matters, and air moving through a duct doesn't sit under the bulb very long. We're upfront about what UV does well and what it doesn't.
Should I be worried about ozone from UV lights or air purifiers?
Yes, and this is something most homeowners don't ask. Some UV-C bulbs and certain "ionizer" air purifiers produce ozone as a byproduct, and the EPA is clear that indoor ozone over 0.05 ppm is a respiratory health risk. We only install low-ozone UV-C and indoor air quality products that don't intentionally generate ozone. If a competitor offers to install an ozone-generating "air purifier," that's a hard pass.
What's the single most impactful indoor air quality upgrade I can do?
For most Central Texas homes: upgrading from a 1-inch panel filter to a 4 or 5-inch media filter cabinet with a MERV 13 filter, properly sized for your blower. That alone removes the vast majority of pollen, dust, and pet dander, lasts 6-12 months between changes, and doesn't strangle your airflow if it's sized right. It's also the cheapest IAQ upgrade by a wide margin. If you're going to do one thing, do that.
How does duct fogging work, and is it safe with kids and pets?
We fog with an EPA-registered antimicrobial - the same class of product hospitals and food-service facilities use for surface disinfection. It's aerosolized through the duct system to coat the inner duct walls and equipment surfaces. Kids, pets, and you need to be out of the house during application and for the safe re-entry interval listed on the product - typically 1-2 hours. After that there's no residue and no occupancy restriction. We follow the label like it's the law because it is.
Do I need a whole-home dehumidifier if my AC already removes humidity?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Your AC pulls humidity as a byproduct of cooling - but only when it's running. On mild summer days when it doesn't need to cool much, the AC barely dehumidifies, and a Central Texas home can sit at 60-70% indoor humidity even with the air at 75°F. That's the sticky feeling. A dedicated dehumidifier runs independent of the cooling call, so humidity stays in the 30-50% target range regardless. If you describe your house as "always clammy in summer," that's the symptom this fixes.
Does an air scrubber really kill viruses?
An honest answer: UV-C inactivates many viruses when they receive sufficient exposure - that's well-established lab science. The harder question is how much exposure a virus actually gets as air zips past the bulb in a residential duct. Lab numbers and real-world performance can be quite different, and the EPA is careful about claims here. We tell customers: UV-C scrubbers are a real layer in a stack, not a standalone "germ-killer" the marketing makes them sound like. Pair with high-MERV filtration and you've got a real defense.
My allergies are worse since I moved to Texas - what's likely to help?
Welcome to Hill Country. Three things help most allergy households here, in order of impact: (1) MERV 13 media filter upgrade - by far the cheapest big move; (2) whole-home dehumidifier to drop humidity into the 40-50% range, which crashes dust mite populations; (3) UV coil light to stop mold and biofilm in the air handler. Stack two of those and most people feel a real difference by the next allergy season. Stack all three and the difference is striking.
Are "ion generator" or "PCO" air purifiers worth installing?
We're cautious about both. Ionizers can produce ozone and the research on real-world particle removal is mixed at best. Photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) sounds impressive on the marketing page but the EPA notes PCO isn't designed to remove particles, and byproduct concerns exist for certain VOC reactions. We won't tell you they don't work for anyone - but for most homes, money spent on better filtration plus a UV coil light produces more measurable improvement than money spent on either of these. If you want one, we'll install it from a reputable manufacturer. We just won't recommend it first.
Real Google Reviews

What Customers Say

Verified 5-star Google reviews from real Texas Legacy Services customers.

★★★★★

"Great customer service, very helpful and knowledgeable. Highly recommend and will be calling for all my future AC needs."

Kelsey K.Google Review
★★★★★

"Super nice and helpful, was showing me things about my AC unit I never knew about. Will be contacting again if needed."

Joseline R.Google Review
★★★★★

"Peter and his team were great at repairing my AC unit. Very good and professional."

Meva B.Google Review

Breathing Better Starts
With an Honest Conversation.

We'll come look at your system, listen to what you're noticing, and recommend the indoor air quality solutions that actually fit. No upsells, no pressure.

(512) 200-1740Request Service →