You might think that the air inside your home is safe for you and fairly unpolluted, but according to the Environmental Protection Agency, that’s not true at all.
The air inside your home is likely to be two to five times as polluted as the air outside.
These are serious numbers, and they illustrate just how bad the conditions are inside most people’s homes. Why is air quality so poor in the home?
There are a lot of different factors at work, and there are a number of things you can do to boost the air quality.
1. Clean the Air Filters
Probably the biggest contributing factor to poor air quality in the home is dirty air filters in your HVAC system.
Air conditioning and heating systems can do a good job of circulating air and controlling the temperature in your home, but if you’re not cleaning the air filters out as frequently as they need to be, then your air quality will be very poor.
You will be circulating dirty air every time you turn on your HVAC system, kicking up dust, pollen, mold, and other irritants and pollutants in the air.
These particles that would normally settle on surfaces will float around the air and get into your sinuses, causing health issues.
On average, air filters should be changed out twice a year and cleaned three to four times a year.
2. Tidy Your Home
It makes sense that dirty hole makes for dirty air. If you’re not sweeping, dusting, mopping, scrubbing, and vacuuming on a regular basis, you have a lot of dirt in your home, not to mention other particles on a microscopic level that could be irritating and harmful.
It’s helpful to clean in your home on a regular basis and do a deep clean from time to time.
Your home can definitely benefit from a professional cleaning service that tidies up the place to a higher standard than you could do yourself.
Thorough cleaning means less germs, dust, dirt, and other things in your home that you don’t really want there. Cleaning gets rid of pests, animal dander, and animal droppings, all of which can contribute to poor air quality and cause health issues.
3. Keep Pests Out
Your home’s air quality can be negatively affected by pests that are making themselves at home there.
By getting rid of these pests, you will be improving air quality, and you will be making your home more pleasant to live in.
If you see any pests in your home, take steps to eliminate them, realizing that a few sightings could indicate a larger infestation- whether it is rats, mice, roaches, ants, or lizards.
If air quality is important to you, then eliminating and reducing pests in the home should be a priority.
4. Put Pets Out
You might love having a cat or dog in your home, but they will definitely contribute to poor air quality. Their hair, dander, fleas, and dead skin cells will all get into the air and pollute it.
You might want to consider making the inside pets into outside ones. That transition may not be very easy or quick, but it can definitely be beneficial for your health and for the improved air quality in your home.
If you have the space outside for your pets to stay out there, this can be an excellent arrangement, giving them more space to roam and more freedom to enjoy themselves.
5. Find and Eliminate Mold
A lot of homes have mold that the homeowners don’t even know about. You may find mold by its distinctive musty smell or you may see it in the home and not realize that is what it is.
Mold is usually identified by dark spots or a dark mass that grows in wet, dark areas, particularly in the bathroom.
Mold grows best in rooms where there is some water present, including the laundry room and kitchen, and especially in areas where there is little ventilation.
Mold spores are sent into the air from the mold mass, and these microscopic particles can seriously hurt your home’s air quality.
To find mold, look for any place in the home where water collects. Wipe down the affected areas with a disinfectant and eliminate the water source to keep mold from coming back.
Mold can be very resilient, and you may not be able to eliminate it entirely, but even heavily reducing its presence in your home can make a big impact.
6. Ventilate Your Home More
The reason your home’s air quality is so poor could be because you are not providing proper ventilation there.
If you open windows and doors on a regular basis and leave them open for a while, fresh air can enter the home and circulate.
This can refresh the air supply in your home, making it smell less musty. That airflow will improve your health and wellbeing, even reducing stress levels and boosting your immune system.
That’s how important fresh air is in the home, so making sure there is proper ventilation at home is essential.
Be careful about when you open up your home, as you may not want to do it as much when pollen or dust are in the air.
7. Use Indoor Plants
Having real plant life in the home can make a difference in your air quality as well.
Plants produce clean, fresh air, so their presence can boost air quality levels and make your home’s air fresher and safer.
Try putting them in strategic areas around the house to maximize their effect and ensures that the entire home can benefit. Plus, adding plants to your home can improve your home’s décor.
By following these tips and improving air quality in your home, you can improve your health and the health of your family. With clean, pure air, you’ll be able to breathe better, sleep better, and experience fewer allergy symptoms.