Seven Easy Ways to Improve Your Home’s Indoor Air Quality
As a future homeowner, you may be thinking about the different ways to care for your new home. Cleanliness and aesthetic appeal of a house is important, and maintaining high standards in these areas actually affects an invisible attribute of a house — the quality of the air you breathe.
Since most people spend the majority of their time inside of their homes, it is important to establish a set of routine tasks for ensuring clean, breathable air for you and your family.
Reduce Moisture
Tiny water particles in the air from cooking, doing the dishes, showering and general humidity can contribute to the growth of mold and fungus. You can reduce day-to-day moisture by cracking a window when you shower, covering boiling pots with lids and using a cooking fan in conjunction with the stove hood when preparing meals.
Eliminate Dust
Using a damp cloth or paper towel to wipe down flat surfaces once or twice a week will remove small particles which can settle on just about any surface. These surfaces include shelves, desks, bookcases, tables, cupboards and more. They also include floors, so it is smart to have a weekly routine of sweeping, mopping and vacuuming.
Detect Hazards
Just as dust particles are mostly invisible, harmful gases such as Carbon Monoxide and Radon are invisible and odorless. Installing detectors along with smoke alarms can ensure high quality indoor air while providing you with peace of mind.
Get Things Moving
Stagnant air throughout the home can become stale and filled with lingering particles. If you employ fans and ventilators in conjunction with open windows and doors, you can move old air through the house and out the door while ushering in fresh air from outside.
Clean the Airways
Interior duct systems which deliver temperature-treated air can become saturated with dust which continuously moves from one area to another. A thorough cleaning of air ducts on a routine basis will get rid of dust from outside and pet dander so that your AC and furnace are not potentially harming you while bringing you comfort.
Change Air Filters
Heating and air conditioning systems have intake ports which draw air into the appliance through a filter before treating it and distributing it around your house. While this is not the case in a new property such as our newest community right outside of Lehi, Rockwell Ranch Townhomes, unchanged filters in older homes can spread dust around every time the appliance is used. It is recommended that these filters are changed once a year for good measure.
Wash the Fabrics
Garments and bedding are known to be some of the biggest culprits when it comes to dusty and unpleasant indoor air. Washing worn clothes and slept-in sheets on a routine basis eliminates unseen and unsuspected sources of potentially harmful indoor air.
A few simple tasks and routines can help to ensure quality, breathable air in your home. Contact us to learn more about new residential properties that await you like a breath of fresh air.
Categorized in: DIY Project, New Home Tips
This post was written by Paige Giles
