The air quality of your home has a bigger impact on your life than you might think. Poor air quality is often caused by dust, debris and bacteria cycling through your home's air conditioning and heating systems. Not only does it make your home more uncomfortable to live in, it can have a seriously negative impact on anyone in your home that is affected by asthma, respiratory illnesses or allergies. Fortunately, there are a number of ways that you can improve your home's indoor air quality.
1. Cleaning Your House
One of the most effective ways to improve the quality of your indoor air is by cleaning your home on a regular basis. The following are a few of the cleaning tips that will have a big impact on your indoor air quality:
- Dust everything: Make sure you dust your home on a regular basis so that dust doesn't build up. When dusting, use a microfiber cloth. Because you'll be wiping a lot of dust from your furniture down onto your floor, make sure that you vacuum after you've dusted.
- Wash bedding: Make sure your bedding is machine washable. To reduce exposure to allergens and dust mites, wash your pillow cases, sheets and comforters on a regular basis.
- Clean or replace air filters: Your air filters help to trap dust and debris, thereby keeping dust and debris from spreading throughout your home. However, the filters need to be either cleaned or replaced once a month to prevent dust and debris from building up to the point where it will restrict air flow.
- Avoid using harsh chemicals: When using cleaning products, make sure that they are environmentally-friendly. Many cleaners contain harsh chemicals that are bad for the environment as well as for you. Instead of buying store bought cleaners, consider making your own using common household products such as white vinegar, warm water and baking soda.
2. Enact Certain House Rules & Other Effective Tasks
Cleaning isn't the only way to make sure your indoor air isn't polluted. The following are a few other tasks and tips to consider, including rules for your household:
- Remove shoes: Shoes tend to track in a lot of dirt and dust from outdoors. Have everyone remove their shoes at the door to keep dirt and dust from being tracked inside.
- Ban smoking: Cigarette smoke will definitely reduce your home's air quality, so require that any smokers in your home smoke outside.
- Control moisture levels: Use humidifiers or dehumidifiers to help control the moisture levels in your air. Too much moisture can lead to mold or mildew, which affects your air quality.
- Limit where your pets can go: Pets tend to shed a lot and also track a lot of dust and dander throughout the house. Keep them out of your bedrooms and off of your furniture.
- Provide ventilation: Make sure that your bathrooms and kitchens have adequate ventilation. Exhaust fans can help keep moisture from building up in the bathroom and can help keep smoke and food debris from building up in the kitchen.
- Use house plants: Not only are house plants a great way to spruce up the look of your interior, but they are also hugely beneficial to the air quality of your home since they help to filter carbon dioxide and produce oxygen.
3. Contact an HVAC Professional
When all else fails, a professional can help you achieve the air quality you deserve. We can get deep into your ductwork to clean where you can't and make sure everything is circulating properly.
Use these tips to improve your home's indoor air quality, and contact us at Appleby Systems for information about our HVAC services today.
