Making sure your air is clean is about more than just making sure things smell fresh. It’s about your health, and the health and safety of those closest to you. So please, heed the following 10 indoor air quality solutions to help you learn how to better care for your air!
Let Nature Offer Assistance
While humans are known to breath in oxygen and out carbon dioxide, the opposite is true of plants. Many plants are even natural air purifiers with the power to freshen any room you turn into their home. Aloe Vera, English Ivy, Rubber Tree, Snake Plant, Bamboo, and Red-Edged Dracaena are all great examples of such flora species. However, be advised to make sure the plants you choose are suitable for your home, meaning non-toxic to pets and/or children who may come into contact with them.
Open Your Windows
Never opening any windows and allowing the same air to simply circulate, and recirculate, over and over will have your air indoors feeling stale really fast. Opening a window, on the other hand, will fill your home with plenty of fresh air to rejuvenate your living spaces.
Keep Your Furnace Blower On
Even if you don’t need the heat, keeping at least your furnace’s blower turned on will ensure the air inside your home is able to circulate rather than simply remaining stagnant. With your furnace’s filtration system, it will even help remove impurities from the air before it’s rereleased back into your home. Just make sure your furnace itself is clean and functioning properly, otherwise it may not properly clean your air.
Make Sure You’re Changing Your Filters
Any air that your HVAC systems push out is first forced through an air filtration system to help remove impurities and contaminants. However, unless you’re actively cleaning and/or replacing your filters in accordance with the original manufacturer’s instructions, you’re not fully benefitting from having the filters in the first place. In order for them to work, and not push bacteria and dust back through your home, you need to keep your filters clean!
Keep Ventilation Systems Clean
Oftentimes opening a window isn’t enough to effectively ventilate a space, which is why homes today are equipped with ventilation systems to help remove stale air. However, not keeping your ventilation systems clean and clear has been known to support the development of serious infections, lung cancer, and even various chronic respiratory diseases, like asthma – so keep them clean!
Reduce Humidity
Just about everything you do from cooking, to showering, creates condensation that can throw off the humidity inside your home, creating a bacteria breeding ground. So, do yourself a favor and invest in some dehumidifiers and/or exhaust fans if you feel a bit moist or sticky on average. You definitely will not regret it!
Invest in Carbon Monoxide Detectors
If you’re talking about ideal air quality, you will never hear someone mention carbon monoxide. It’s a tasteless, scentless, colorless, all around undetectable and life-threatening gas known to destroy entire families overnight. So please, invest in high quality carbon monoxide detectors. It could save your life.
Keep Your Floors Clean
Whether you have hardwood or carpet, keeping your floors clean by dusting, sweeping, and vacuuming regularly will significantly reduce the levels of dirt, dust mites, and other foreign/unwanted pollutants in your home – keeping your family safer!
Get An Additional Air Purification System
Both portable and whole-home purification systems can be great investments for reducing impurities, like pollen and mod spores, in your home. These pollutants can easily get inside the body and continue to grow in the lungs and nasal cavities, but with the right purification system, you can eliminate these impurities by up to 98%!
Consult A Professional Annually
Just like going to the eye doctor or dentist, your home should have a routine visit from and HVAC professional at least once a year to go over your systems’ performance and have your air quality tested. While it may not seem entirely necessary, doing so will give you a better look at exactly what kind of impurities are plaguing your home, as well as what you can do to better optimize your air quality.
For more tips and tricks on improving the comfort and safety of your home, get in touch with our talented HVAC specialists directly at AFM Heating & Cooling today. Call AFM Heating & Cooling at 734.464.6700 for a free consultation, or simply fill out the form in the sidebar, today.
