How to Improve Indoor Air Quality at Home
The air quality in your home is compromised by a number of factors. Dust mites, pet dander, chemicals, and mold all interfere with your ability to breathe clean air in your home. Here are some simple tips to help you improve indoor air quality at home.
1. Work On Your Home’s Ventilation
Proper air circulation is important for improving indoor air quality. It’s a good idea to have your HVAC unit serviced at least once a year and change out the air filters according to the manufacturers manual. Using your ceiling fans and opening windows for a few minutes every day will also help to circulate fresh air throughout your home. Any tool or device that keeps the air in motion will help improve your indoor air quality at home.
2. Keep Your Home Clean
Most homeowners often neglect certain parts of the house even when deep cleaning. This leads to an accumulation of dirt, bad odors, and even mold that ends up contaminating the fresh air in the rest of the house. Pay attention to the garage adjacent to the house and the basement. By extending your cleaning to these parts of the house, you’ll improve your indoor air quality.
3. Get Some House Plants
Did you know that apart from their aesthetic appeal, house plants are also known to improve indoor air quality at your home? Some of these plants are also believed to filter harmful VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, from your air. These include carbon dioxide and mercury found in personal care products like fragrances, cleaning products, and building materials.
4. Lower the Humidity
Consider reducing the level of moisture in the air with a dehumidifier. Adjusting humidity levels also helps reduce the concentration of moisture-friendly dust mites that are considered an allergen. Think about all factors that increase moisture levels in the house since reducing humidity will improve indoor air quality. For instance, vent the clothes dryer to the outside, fix leaking plumbing lines, and use the exhaust fans in your kitchen and bathroom.
5. Cut Out Chemicals
Fragrances used in cleaning and the aerosol sprays used in air fresheners often do more harm than good. In most cases, these products are laced with petroleum filtrates and heavy metal particles like mercury and copper. Most importantly, they don’t eliminate bad odors or improve indoor air quality, but instead mask the bad smell with a scented one. Instead of these synthetic compounds, use natural cleaning remedies such as lemon and baking soda.
The Bottom Line
Having fresh, clean air in your home doesn’t have to be complicated. By following these simple and practical indoor air purification strategies, you’ll go a long way towards improving your air quality at home!
Buyer’s Edge serves Western North Carolina with home inspection services. Contact us to schedule a home inspection or radon testing and mitigation services.