Maintain Air Quality In Your Home with These Easy Tips
There are many benefits to ensuring clean air in your home, it is very important to the health of you, your family, and pets. Not only can dust, mold, and pet dander causes allergies and other respiratory issues, but it can even cause digestive upset in people.
Mold toxicity and other common toxins can even mimic autoimmune disorders, so maintaining air quality in your home is something that should be at the top of your to-do list. Here are a few tips to improve your indoor air quality so you can stay as healthy as possible.
Clean Floors Will Keep Dust and Toxins to a Minimum
Maintaining clean floors in your home will ensure there are fewer unsavory particles available to become airborne. When microscopic dust and toxic particles are laying around collecting in corners, it can easily be disturbed by walking around your home.
This makes them go airborne for you to inhale. Be sure to vacuum at least weekly with a HEPA filter vacuum, which traps toxic particles from being blown back out the exhaust.
You’ll want to follow up with a microfiber mop on all hard floors to stop any extra toxins from making it into your clean air supply.
Air Out Your Home With Open Windows, Vents, or Exhaust Fans
Having good ventilation in your home is important for allowing stagnant air out and allowing fresh air in. Even in the colder months, this practice will improve the air quality in your home. A simple way to accomplish this is by opening windows. If you happen to live in a city where pollution is a problem, you may want to consider timing this with local traffic patterns. You wouldn’t want to let in toxic traffic fumes at rush hour, so try to plan around that to ensure the freshest airflow possible.
Two other options for ventilating your home are installing a trickle vent or an exhaust fan. Trickle vents are small vents, generally placed in cooking areas, that allow outside air in after going through a filter. Exhaust fans are often located in kitchens or bathrooms and can be set to either suck fresh air into your home or push stale air out of your home. All of these options are great for circulating fresh air through your home, improving your air supply.
Look for the Source of the Problem
Sometimes no matter how often you’re cleaning and how much you’re airing out your home, you may have ongoing air quality problems. It’s best to get to the root of the issue to stop it before it starts. HVAC systems have a few areas to address that could be affecting your air quality.
Since the heating and cooling systems are hidden, it’s easy to forget that they are machinery that requires regular maintenance to continue doing its job. First, you’ll want to check your air filter. Professionals suggest checking your filter once a month to see if it needs to be replaced.
This is a cardboard frame that has fiberglass or pleated fabric center that traps dust, pet dander, mold, and other toxins in the air. Checking your air filter is easy. Simply hold it up to a light source and if you can see light through it, it’s good to go. If you can’t see light through it, then it’s time for a replacement filter.
If that doesn’t solve your problem, next you’ll want to have a professional check your HVAC system and air ducts. Your heating and cooling system itself may need parts replaced to function optimally, especially if regular maintenance wasn’t performed. If the system has parts that are not doing their job, then air quality will suffer. Air ducts can become an issue because they collect dust, grime, or mold over time.
As air passes through them to be distributed throughout your home, it collects toxins from buildup that gets re-dispersed into your air supply. Professionals suggest having your air ducts cleaned every 3-5 years to ensure the highest air quality control for your home.
Trust HRC Climate Services
Serving Spanish Fork and Utah County, HRC Climate Services are your trusted full-service residential and commercial heating and air conditioning professionals. From minor repairs and UV air sanitizers to complete replacements, a dedicated team of honest technicians keeps your best interest in mind while offering high-quality workmanship and expertise to save you time and money.
