You might be surprised to find out that the air inside your home is likely dirtier than the air outside – and potentially much more polluted. Poor indoor air quality can threaten your family’s health and compromise quality of life. This is why improving indoor air quality should be a priority in every household.
In modern homes, the air quality is all the worse because of the contemporary push for energy efficiency and airtight construction. If your home lacks effective ventilation, that dirty air has no easy way to escape your home’s envelope. Luckily, a variety of strategies are available for improving indoor air quality.
Try These Steps for Cleaner Indoor Air
- Go to the source. Reduce sources of pollution inside your home. Dust and clean regularly, and replace chemical-based cleaning and home-care products with natural products when possible. Avoid products that contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
- Improve ventilation in the home. This can be as simple as opening windows and doors (with screens) during mild weather, or on cool mornings before your A/C kicks on. However, you may need to up the force level with an effective balanced-ventilation system. Use exhaust fans in bathrooms and the kitchen, and make sure the attic has the right amount and type of vents. Dirty air in the attic can spread to other parts of your home.
- Beware of hazardous contaminants. Your heating equipment should be inspected and maintained annually to minimize the risk of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Your home should be equipped with working CO and smoke detectors. Test your home for radon, as well, since it poses a significant threat of lung cancer in home occupants.
- Invest in an air-cleaning system. A variety of air purifiers and cleaners are available for residential use. They employ different strategies to clean indoor air, though the best ones combine strategies such as high-efficiency filtration, electrostatic attraction and ultraviolet lights.
- Use high-efficiency HVAC air filters. Inspect and change them regularly.
For more advice on improving indoor air quality in your Dayton area home, please contact us at Ace Hardware Home Services, Inc.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Risto Viita/Shutterstock”
