If you or a family member suffer from allergies, you may be wondering what you can do to improve your home’s indoor air quality. After all, having clean, allergen-free air could potentially lead to fewer asthma attacks, less sneezing and coughing, and a reduction in health problems associated with poor indoor air quality. Breathe easier by following these simple tips to help improve your home’s indoor air!
Keep it clean
It goes without saying that keeping a clean home is essential if you want to have allergen- and pollutant-free air to breathe. Focus your cleaning efforts the most on fabrics or materials that can collect pet hair, dander, and other airborne materials that could make your allergies worse.
Vacuuming regularly with a device that has a HEPA filter could help lessen the number of allergens in your home’s air. Additionally, clean your bedding, curtains, rugs, and furniture surfaces often to prevent the build-up of these pollutants that could jeopardize your indoor air quality.
Replace your air filter
All air passing through your heating and cooling systems must first pass through a filter before it’s pushed out through your home. The filter’s job is to catch airborne pollutants like pet hair, mold spores, dust, and other materials which could cause problems for your home’s indoor air quality.
Replace the filter at least once per month, more often if you have pets in your home or individuals who smoke living with you. These things can cause the filter to get dirty much more quickly than usual. If you aren’t sure what size filter you need, check the fit of the one that’s already in place, or take a look at the owner’s manual that came with your furnace and/or air conditioner.
Keep plants outside
Even if you have a green thumb and love to tend to plants in your home, keeping them inside could cause problems for your indoor air, depending on the plant. Certain plants can foster the development of mold spores, and when these spores are released into the air, it can cause a variety of health problems. This includes things like headaches, skin rashes, asthma attacks, and more.
Buy an air purifier
Purchase an air purifier to help improve your indoor air — this is essential in homes where someone may suffer from allergies caused by a pet, but they don’t want to remove the pet from the household. The purifier will trap airborne pollutants and help you to breathe a little easier.
Last but not least…
One of the easiest and most effective things you can do to improve your home’s indoor air is to open the windows on days that aren’t too warm or cold. When you open the windows, airborne contaminants can flow outside, and you can let in clean, fresh air for your family to breathe!