Maintaining a good indoor air quality is extremely important, particularly when it comes to families with small children. Their lungs are fragile and sensitive, being therefore more exposed to damage caused by airborne particles that enter their airways. Moreover, small children tend to breathe through their mouth a lot, thus not taking advantage of the natural filter that is the nasal mucous membrane. This article shares a few easy tips to help you improve your indoor air quality.
The first and foremost piece of advice anyone could give you is to fill your house with green plants. Plants with round leaves are particularly helpful because they have an increased absorption power. They retain airborne dust, mites and various other particles on their leaves, cleaning up the air inside your home. Furthermore, plants absorb the carbon dioxide from their environment, releasing oxygen. This is a naturally occurring process, so you have nothing else to do than to make sure your plants are well nourished and healthy.
If you must use craft supplies inside your home, do it only in well ventilated areas. Like this, you’re going to reduce the amount of fumes and potentially toxic odors in your house. If possible, do this type of work outside, in a garage or in a garden shed.
Never smoke inside your home. As a matter of fact, smoking is not good for you, so you should try to quit it. Nonetheless, this is easier said than done. If you must smoke, do it outside. Second hand smoking is extremely harmful, so avoid exposing your family to this health hazard just because you don’t feel like going outside whenever you need to smoke a cigarette.
Avoid steam accumulation by using an exhaust fan while you cook, bathe or run the dish washer. If you don’t have a fan, make sure you crack a window open, so that you allow fresh air from outside to enter. High humidity levels are very dangerous, because they promote mold and mildew growths. Mold is extremely dangerous, because it develops very easily and it is difficult to get rid of. It’s much safer not to allow it to grow in the first place, so make sure you keep your rooms dry and properly ventilated. Use dehumidifiers, if needed. Furthermore, fix all leaky plumbing as soon as you detect the problem. Never allow stale water in your home, as it favors mold growth.
Carpeting is another factor that can have a negative impact on your indoor air quality. Consider getting rid of your carpets in favor of hardwood or ceramic tile floors. These hard surfaces are much easier to clean and they don’t trap dust and dirt particles like carpet fibers do. If you love your carpeting, keep it, but make sure you hire a professional cleaning service to steam clean and disinfect them at least once a year. Your indoor air quality will significantly improve.
These are only a few tips to help you improve the quality of your indoor air. By implementing them, you’re going to make your air a bit cleaner. For best results, you should consider using air purifiers with HEPA filters. These filters have the ability to retain harmful particles such as dust and airborne mold spores. If you already have a mold problem, you should seek for an air purifier with antimicrobial filter. This will prevent the filter from developing mold growths.
Although poor air quality doesn’t always imply odors, the fact that your indoor air doesn’t smell doesn’t make it necessarily clean and pure. You have to do your best to avoid indoor air pollution at all costs. You’ll see the effect on your medical bills.