Just about all of us have poor indoor air quality and don’t even
know it—or we don’t think that there's enough to
worry about. What we have to keep in
mind, however, is that just because we don't think there's a problem doesn't mean that the coast is clear--it just may show up later in the form of 'mystery' allergies or illness. Good indoor air quality isn't just about filtering the air--it consists of several things, such as keeping pollutants out of the air, maintaining proper humidity and temperature, etc. That said, there are a few quick things you can do to dramatically improve home air quality:
Humidity: You want to make sure your indoor humidity isn’t too high—or too low. Anything above 50% humidity is feeding bacteria and mold growth. Below 30% is often too little humidity and can irritate sinus and respiratory tissues. So you want to stay in that 35-45% range for health and comfort. Fix: Buy a hygrometer to test your humidity first. If it’s less than 30% (which often happens at colder outdoor temperatures), buy a humidifier and adjust to around 35-45%, with 35-40% usually the ideal spot. If it’s over 50%, get a dehumidifier and run until you get humidity within acceptable levels. This helps keep odors down, too, if you keep excess humidity out of the air. Also, look for any wet areas and fix any leaks.
Particles: One of the biggest contributors to house dust is what’s coming out of the air conditioner ducts. Quick fix: cut a/c filters into pieces that will fit behind the room vents—doing this can knock out over 80% of dust and particles coming out of your ducts. Then, to protect yourself from micro-particles and bacteria that are too small to be trapped by the A/C filter, buy an air filtration system that includes true HEPA and carbon filters, such as those from Aller Air, Blueair, Austin Air, etc. These all work well and can easily remove over 95% of allergy and disease causing particles, bacteria, chemicals and more from your indoor air. This is especially helpful if you have pets as indoor animals often increase indoor air pollutants by 50-100% or more. Obviously, once or twice a week vacuuming and mopping can make a bid difference, too.
Chemicals: Even if you don’t notice any odors, paints, solvents and cleaners all release chemicals into the air. Odors are airborne chemicals, too and some of them cause sinus irritation as well as the unpleasant smell. Fix: Get all clears, solvents and paint containers out of the house (into the garage, in an air tight container, etc) can make a huge difference. Also, if you are using a quality air purifier with a large amount of carbon, that will help remove any residual airborne chemicals and sharply reduce any odors that are constantly being produced (cooking, pets, etc).
Finally, consider opening your windows for a few hours per day instead of running the air conditioner (turn it off while doing this). This will allow air to circulate in your home without the A/C air blowing dust and debris out of the duct work (yes, unless the ducts are brand new or cleaned in the last month or two, they're dirty). Indoor air is typically about 5 times more polluted than outdoor air so allowing some fresh air in through the windows for part of the day a few times a week can improve your indoor air quality--and save on your power bill.
Air Purifiers and Cleaners.com offers quick and easy commercial and residential indoor air solutions and products for almost any application. And since we're an online store with extremely low overhead, that enables us to offer our products at the cheapest discount prices with free shipping! Call our experts toll-free today for free information and answers to your questions--1-800-701-2513. We're here to help!
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