People don’t often think about what the air quality is like in their home. Their home is their oasis, and they often feel safe and protected there no matter what. Unfortunately, there are things like mold and other airborne pathogens in the air at home that you don’t even realize. In fact, there is a very good chance that the air quality in your home is not nearly as high as you think it is.
It’s important to make sure that your house’s air quality is always very high so that you are not getting needlessly sick over the course of the winter. When you take care of the quality of the indoor air you can stave off a lot of illnesses that you assumed were inevitable. In this article, we will go over the steps you can take to improve the air quality in your home right away.
1. Change and add filters
One of the quickest ways to improve the air quality in your home is to set up some filters or change the ones you’re already using. There are filters that can trap even the smallest particles of only several microns in size. Many of these particles are flu viruses, mold spores, and other pathogens. When a filter gets dirty or completely full then they need to be changed or cleaned depending on the type of filter. If you have a UV filter, then make sure to change the UV filter lights so it is always effective.
You should also think about adding more filters to your home. In essence, every room should have an air purifier of its own so you don’t have some areas with good air and others with poor quality.
Besides air purifiers, you should be cleaning out the other filters in the house such as the ones in the HVAC system. There are lots of particles trapped in there that will be circulated when you turn the heat on for the winter and degrade the quality of the air.
2. Clean the carpets
Cleaning your carpets is another way to improve the air quality in your home. There is a lot going on in your carpet that is affecting the air quality inside your home. There is likely years’ worth of accumulation of things like pet dander, dead skin cells, and pollen that is trapped deep in the fibers.
You can try to vacuum it all out and will have some success if you are using a vacuum with a HEPA filter. The best results will come when you get the carpets steam cleaned. This is because the power of the steam cleaner penetrates deep down into the carpet. There are also chemicals that kill the pathogens trapped there.
3. Use natural cleaning products
The air quality in your home is not just impacted by the particles floating around the house. There are also a lot of toxic chemicals that we are unwittingly exposing ourselves to. This is why it’s very important to use cleaning products that are natural and don’t use harsh chemicals.
You’ll still need to be careful about exposure to the products as they can cause headaches or respiratory problems if you get too close or use too much. However, they are miles away from using synthetic chemicals for cleaning that often have residual effects and can cause a lot of problems when you are continuously exposed to them.
4. Keep it Ventilated
A lot of little things can end up building up inside your home. Pet dander is always floating around. The residual effects of chemical cleaning products and the dust mites that are accumulating. This is why it’s important to get your windows open and air out the house once a day. It will work wonders to improving the air quality in your home.
Even in the harsh winter when it’s really cold, you should bundle up for a few minutes and open up all the windows. Getting fresh air in to replace the stale air does wonders for the quality of the air. The cold air is also more sterile and has fewer particles as it does in the summer.
5. Keep your pets clean
Animals can seriously affect the air quality in your home in a negative way. They have a lot of dander which gets all over everything and can create allergies. A cat’s litter box will also cause odors that are unpleasant as well as dust from the litter. Make sure to bath your dogs and keep your other pets’ litter boxes and cages clean to avoid degrading the air.