Your home’s indoor air quality can affect several aspects of your life. Clean indoor air will boost your mental health, energy levels, and physical well-being, even if you don’t have asthma or seasonal allergies. With that in mind, follow these steps to ensure fresh and clean indoor air quality while eliminating unpleasant or harmful contaminants.
- Maintain a Clean Home
Allergens, pollutants, and other particles can hide in often overlooked areas throughout your home. This debris also clings to fibers, so each time you walk on a carpet or rustle a curtain, you will stir those particles and likely inhale them. It’s difficult to purge all contaminants, but a weekly cleaning will remove most of them from your home.
- Change Your HVAC Air Filter
Change your home’s HVAC air filter once a month to ensure it efficiently captures pollutants and circulates treated air quality into all living spaces. A clean filter also improves airflow, which helps maintain a consistent temperature in each room.
- Use an Air Purifier
Even if the HVAC system effectively filters treated air, some contaminants could still pass through and reach your living spaces. While you can turn the entire system off and open the windows, installing air purifiers is a more efficient way to remove pollutants.
- Rethink Your Lifestyle Habits
Consider how certain habits might contribute to pollutants. For instance, if you smoke, designate an outdoor smoking area or make strides to quit altogether. You can also ensure that everyone removes their footwear at the door. This will prevent shoes from tracking debris across the carpets, rugs, and other upholstered surfaces.
- Improve Air Circulation
A closed living space will recirculate the same pollutants from one room to the next, so use your HVAC system and fans to increase healthy air circulation. Open windows will also give you more access to fresh air, reducing the concentration of indoor pollutants.
- Take Care of Your Pets
You can own pets and still maintain optimal air quality. If your animals shed or their coats have an oily odor, a veterinarian can recommend solutions, such as a consistent bathing routine. Responsible care leads to a healthier pet while removing fur clumps, dander, pests, or other animal residue from your living spaces.
- Clean HVAC Ducts Regularly
A semi-annual duct cleaning is essential for clean indoor air. Dust, cobwebs, pests, and other debris can collect in the ductwork; as air passes, those particles move into your home. To avoid this, consistently wipe registers and vents, then hire a professional duct cleaning service to thoroughly scrub down periodically.
- Consider Ditching Carpets or Curtains
As previously mentioned, pollutants and allergens can hide in carpet fibers. Weekly vacuuming and occasional steam cleaning can reduce their presence, but the most effective way to boost air quality in carpeted rooms is to ditch the fabric entirely. Not only will this minimize pollutants, but wood or tile floors are also much easier to maintain.
- Bring in Houseplants
You might be surprised to learn that plants can enhance indoor air quality. Rubber trees, English ivies, peace lilies, bamboo palms, and Boston ferns are all-natural cleaners. Before you bring them home, research their sunlight, water, and soil requirements.
Inspect Your Home’s Air Quality for a Healthier Life
Testing your home’s indoor air quality one time isn’t enough. Even a drop in air quality could point to an HVAC malfunction or another potential issue. Schedule an air quality inspection at least once a year to maintain a fresh and healthy living space.
