4 Ways to Improve Air Quality At Home

4 Ways to Improve Air Quality At Home

Indoor Air Quality Affects Comfort and Health 

With warmer weather, there’s an increased chance that your windows and doors are open and your HVAC unit is cycling air to cool and ventilate your home. Since the spring and summer months include allergy season, the air in your home must be free of major pollutants and allergens that could make health problems worse. Good indoor air requires homeowners to eliminate sources of pollutants and allergens, maintain HVAC systems with scheduled maintenance, and keep indoor spaces clean.

Change Your HVAC Filters Regularly: HVAC filters trap particulates as indoor air cycles from indoor intakes and out vents. Filters need to be checked and replaced regularly. When an air filter is blocked with dust, debris, and other dirt, your HVAC system works harder to push air through to maintain the temperature set on your thermostat. The clogging is terrible for your HVAC system (it can quickly overheat or worse). These things can lead to a stuffy house and possibly make you more susceptible to allergies or illness. Indoor Air Professionals makes a 3-ply depth loading, antimicrobial, HEPA-rated filter capable of trapping smaller particles for improved indoor air quality.

Avoid Smoking Indoors: It’s obvious and goes without saying, but smoking inside is the leading cause of poor indoor air quality. More importantly, indoor smoking may affect the health of those you love the most, leading to everything from asthma and respiratory infection to cancer from second-hand smoke. Living with a clean air supply is one of the most important overall health and well-being factors. While vaping and e-cigarettes seem to be odorless, the long-term health effects are still unknown. Play it safe and smoke or vape outside. Indoor smoking also increases the chances of a home fire, so do you and your family a favor and take it outdoors. 

Keep Your Home Clean: The more dust, dander, and debris in your home, the worse the air quality and the more your HVAC has to work to compensate for clogged vents and overly dirty filters. Keep floors swept, vacuumed, and be sure to dust frequently. Using a microfiber cloth or even a damp paper towel can help gather dust so that you can remove it from your home. Cleaning your home will improve indoor air quality and make your HVAC system run more efficiently. Keep pet hair under control by brushing your pets to remove loose fur or using a vacuum cleaner designed to handle pet fur. Keep countertops, sinks, and bathrooms clean and dry to combat household mold growth. It is also helpful to place Kanberra Gel in rooms with more moisture. 

Open Windows: Be Aware of Outdoor Allergens. Opening windows and creating some cross-ventilation is ideal for bringing some fresh air into the house. Pollen is usually not bad during the winter, but be mindful of outdoor allergens that may come in and a change in indoor humidity.