5 Ways To Improve Your Family’s Indoor Air Quality
Allergens like dust mites, pet dander, pollen, and mold spores circulate through our homes. These allergens can cause respiratory problems like asthma, fatigue and sleepiness, or digestive issues. One thing you can do to improve your family’s indoor air quality is to open a window, but that might not be a viable option for you, especially during the winter months. That said, here are five other things you can do to improve the air quality in your home.
Use Air Purifiers
Image via Flickr by GEEK KAZU
Air purifiers can improve your indoor air quality by removing airborne contaminants in the home. These devices are extremely helpful for anyone with allergies or asthma. It is best to turn air purifiers to a high setting during waking hours so that they can remove contaminants from the largest surface area possible.
Use Dehumidifiers
Dehumidifiers can work in tandem with air purifiers to improve the indoor air quality for allergy or asthma sufferers in your home. Dehumidifiers improve indoor air quality by removing excess moisture from the air. This limits the growth of mold, mildew, and dust mites in your home.
Use an Air Exchanger
An air exchanger is a ventilation system that improves your indoor air quality by exchanging indoor air with outdoor air while maintaining your home’s level of heat or moisture. A heat recovery ventilator (HRV) transfers the heat from the outgoing air to the incoming air if you are heating your home, or transfers the heat from the incoming air to the outgoing air if you are cooling your home. An energy recovery ventilator (ERV) maintains the level of humidity in your home by transferring humidity from the outgoing air to the incoming air or vice versa.
This is an alternative to opening a window. Also, depending on the type of system you have (fully ducted, exhaust ducted, or simplistic), your air exchanger may remove pollutants at their source, like from bathrooms, kitchens, and any part of your house that tends to be humid.
Use Your HVAC System
Of course, your HVAC system is something you can use to ventilate your entire house or just the rooms where the vents are open. You can clear the air in your home with the air conditioner or just the regular fan setting.
As a reminder, make sure that you have regular HVAC maintenance. Clean or replace your filters once a month or every three months based on your usage of your HVAC system. Also, be sure to get a professional to inspect your HVAC before every season to make sure it’s in proper working order.
Clean Your Home Regularly
In addition to the above solutions, you should regularly clean your house. Doing so will prevent bacterial growth, dust buildups, trash buildups, and the buildup of clutter where pollutants can collect. Dust regularly, clean surfaces where food and other contaminants have been, and pay close attention to areas like your bathrooms and kitchen. If anyone in your home has an allergy to certain cleaners, try some natural cleaning solutions.
You have many options when it comes to improving your family’s indoor air quality. Consider these five options, especially if you have allergies or asthma.
