How to Improve Indoor Air Quality – 6 Essential Strategies

Indoor air pollution occurs in a progressive and harmful way and contributes to lung diseases, including respiratory infections, asthma, and lung cancer. Many people fail to see the link between poor indoor air quality and the cause of their illness or the worsening of their symptoms, which can make it harder for doctors to diagnose them. Protecting your and your family’s health can reduce healthcare costs, but it is just as important to avoid hospital admissions because of the inherent dangers. Check out these government statistics…

Mold is not the only pollutant affecting indoor air quality, the list is long and includes chemical gases, pet dander, dust, and house dust mites, dust mite body parts and droppings, pollen, and other allergens as well as bacteria and viruses. Since most indoor environments are closed to the outdoors, it’s a safe haven for these tiny, invisible invaders.

How To Improve Your Indoor Air Quality:

1- Ventilate: Air out the house, exchanging your stale indoor air for outside fresh air. Fresh air contains .05ppm of Ozone, a necessary ingredient for improving indoor air quality and one that is recommended by nature. This procedure is most effective after a thunderstorm when ozone levels are at their highest.

2- Eliminate the Known Sources: Cigarette Smoke, fireplaces, scented candles, aerosols, pets, and all those other chemical cleaners that you are storing. Do an inventory of your cleaners and if you have not used it in the last 6 months, pitch it out. Use dust mite covers for your mattress and pillows. Clean your carpets often or switch to alternative flooring. Use a HEPA-rated vacuum cleaner or invest in a central vacuuming system.

3- Air Cleaning: Replace the existing HVAC filter and upgrade to an allergy-rated filter.* Inspect the ducts, if they are excessively dusty, have them cleaned.

4- Sanitize: Use broad-based environmentally friendly disinfectants to clean areas frequently touched such as doorknobs, toilet flush handles, faucet handles, countertops, etc. Treat these surfaces with an inhibitor against microbial growth. Use hand sanitizers.

5- Control Humidity: The use of humidifiers and dehumidifiers to control humidity in the environment is for your comfort. If you are using a humidifier we recommend that you use a hygrometer to monitor humidity levels and to adjust your humidifiers settings. The settings supplied by the manufacturer using outside air temp as a reference set can be notoriously inaccurate. Relative Humidity above 70% will encourage mold and bacteria growth. Maintain humidity levels 40-60%.

6- Grow houseplants to cool the air. Plants are air filters created by nature. Some houseplants can do wonders for the air quality in your home. Plants like Boston Fen and lilies (indoor bloomers) and Snake Plant are the best options for dealing with air pollutants. And that’s not to mention the effects of plants on human well-being.