6 Ways to Improve Your Quality of Life By Improving Your Indoor Air Quality
Odds are pretty good you’re familiar with the concern over air pollution. However, did you know air pollution doesn’t just occur outside? Many people mistakenly think the air inside is automatically cleaner than the air outside.
Here’s a bombshell. It’s not!
In fact, according to the EPA, your indoor air could have as many as two to five times the pollutants the air outside has! These pollutants include dust, pet dander, fumes created by paint, cleaning products and fragrances, mold, bacteria and more. These pollutants can exacerbate asthma, allergies or respiratory illnesses. Fortunately, there are things you can do about this. The following are a few ways that you can improve your home’s indoor air quality:
1. Allow fresh air in
Open your windows to let your home’s stale, polluted air cycle out while fresh air comes in. This will be even more effective if you run your ceiling fans or portable fans.
Of course it isn’t possible to open the windows every day through the winter. But even opening up a few windows once a week on a milder day will have a noticeable impact on the air quality inside. Crack a few windows on opposing ends of the house to get some nice air flow and cycle air out quickly.
2. Use eco-friendly cleaning supplies
Many store bought cleaning supplies contain numerous chemicals that are not only harmful to the environment, they could have a negative effect on you as well. Look for cleaning supplies that promote themselves as “green,” or use natural household products, like white vinegar and baking soda, to clean your home instead.
3. Use house plants
House plants are not only a great way to freshen up your home’s decor, they also act as natural air filters. This is because many household plants will absorb the harmful chemicals in your air. Plants such as peace lilies, marginatas, bamboo palms and English ivies are especially effective at removing benzene, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde from your indoor air.
4. Use a HEPA filter vacuum
Many of the pollutants that end up in your air come from your carpets and floors. This is because they accumulate dust, debris and bacteria that are released when you step on them. So vacuuming regularly is very important to your home’s air quality. However, a poor quality vacuum cleaner will just end up spreading these pollutants around – a HEPA filter vacuum will ensure that everything is sucked up.
5. Change your air filters
The air filter is integral to preventing pollutants from spreading throughout your home via your air duct system. As air cycles through your ducts, the air filter is what traps a large percentage of pollutants, such as dust or debris. However, if you don’t change or clean your air filters regularly, this dust and debris will build up to the point where your HVAC system will no longer work efficiently, and pollutants will begin building up on your registers – blowing into your home’s air.
6. Use non-VOC paint
If you are doing any paint projects within your home, only use zero VOC paint. Zero VOC paints mean that there are no toxins or solvents in the paint that will pollute your air.
Making sure that your indoor air quality is high is important to your comfort and your health. Because of this, you should use these six tips to reduce the pollutants in your air. Find your local ClimateCare member and ask for additional advice concerning your air quality today.
