How to Improve Indoor Air Quality At Home

Recent research by the American Lung Association shows that indoor air may be more polluted than we think. This study was done after there were increased cases of asthma and lung complication deaths among persons that spent most of their time indoors.

Kitchen appliances, among them the heating system and the ovens, bring about steam and stale air. With time, the steam may lead to the development of mold spores, which causes allergic reactions. Don’t be sure that your house is safe until you counter check with a testing kit.

Below are tips on how to improve indoor air quality at home.

Keep the Home Clean

The problem you are experiencing in your home may be due to poor hygiene. Proper indoor hygiene will, in a significant way, help to remove dust and other unnecessary materials from your home. The cleaning strategies you adopt have to be directed towards dust elimination before it accumulates.

Within your home, you must invest in a vacuum cleaner. With these, you will be cleaning the rugs and carpets at least twice a week, thus getting rid of all the trapped dust particles.

At the same time, there is the dust that accumulates in your bedding and may be from your pet. To get rid of this, you have to clean the bedding regularly with hot water. Pillowcases should be made of a material that can resist dust and mold.

Any waste materials present in your home creates a suitable environment for the accumulation of dust. To avoid all these, remove any clutter as soon as it appears.

The corners of your rooms are the other areas which easily trap dust. Cleaning of the whole house should be routine if you are serious about improving the quality of air in the home.

Conserve Healthy Humidity Levels

Most of the dangerous materials e.g., mold and dust mites, do well in the presence of moisture. A typical home should have a moisture content of not more than 50%. This will, by far, keep away all the allergens that are associated with high levels of moisture.

In typical cases, it will be hard to control the level of moisture content unless you have a specialized machine for the same. It is with the regard that you are advised to invest in a dehumidifier to help reduce the moisture.

Invest in an Air Purifier

Sometimes, it becomes hard to give up on that pet due to the bond that you have created. If you are in such a situation, the best way to go about it is by buying a modern air purifier.

Air purifiers should be in areas that attract massive traffic in your home. This way, you will capture most of the irritants that would initially cause you troubles.

Purifiers may never be 100%, but are effective in the reduction of allergens to levels your immune system can counter. However, other areas will need some renovations to keep away the dust and mold.

The basement of your home will need a well-functioning dehumidifier since it is one of the damp areas of the home. With this, you will have eliminated all the molds making the indoor air clean.

Keep the Door and Windows Open

There is this misconception that summertime is the only period when the doors and windows can be opened. This is a total lie that is likely to cause issues if done for prolonged periods.

One, we should appreciate the fact that windows are fixed in your home, not for decoration purposes but to ventilate your house. With that said, ensure that the windows and doors are open during the day, whether it is in the winter or summer.

The cold that you are afraid of may be all your lungs need to enhance blood circulation. At the same time, there should be no cooking activities when these areas are shut. This way, you will be creating room for condensation, which later turns out to be a mold breeding ground.

Keep them open to allow in some fresh air as the old air gets out. It also dilutes the concentration of allergens with your home to a reasonable level that can hardly harm you.

Make Your Home a Smoking-Free Zone

Second-hand cigarette smoke is one of the significant aspects of indoor air pollution. Cigarette smoke is made of thousands of chemicals which, when inhaled by children, it brings about the problems of falls as well as respiratory infections, among many others.

Smoking addicts tend to smoke within their house, which is wrong. Regardless of the strength of the urge, it is always right to resist for the sake of your children. Apart from the children, you are also risking your health by pumping that dark smoke into your lungs.

Quitting smoking can be a hard task, but it is possible for as long as there is determination from your side. As a starting point, join a support group that is going through the same addiction. You are likely to gain motivation from these groups, and eventually, the smoking might stop.

If quitting is not your thing, then don’t expose the rest of the family to the smoke. Do it from the outside, although it may end up being carried by air currents directly into your home.

Avoid the Indoor Greenery

In-door plants are always good for the eye, but in real sense, they cause more harm than good. The fact that they are green plants means that they require regular watering to remain healthy.

The watering process creates an environment suitable for the existence of molds. These molds will end up causing respiratory complications. Although plants give back oxygen and take carbon, the negative aspects outdo the positive.

However, if the plant you choose requires less water, go for it. Plants such as Aloe vera can absorb chemical materials released by synthetic products.

Understanding indoor air quality can be a complicated affair, but you have to make it simple by putting the above practices in place. If the American population fails to address the issues of indoor air pollution, numerous lives will be lost through respiratory infections.

Resources— WebMD, Harvard Medical School