You might not think about it, but the air inside your home can be extremely dirty, dirtier than the air outside. Many factors can negatively affect your indoor air quality, but there are steps you can take to improve it. Keep reading below to learn five ways you can improve your indoor air quality.
What’s Polluting Your Indoor Air?
Indoor air quality is often much worse than outdoor air. According to the EPA, air pollution can be up to 2 to 5 times higher indoors. Having clean indoor air isn’t just about keeping your home clean; it’s also about keeping you, your family, and your pets healthy. Poor indoor air quality can negatively impact your body, making it harder to breathe, sleep, and stay healthy overall. Before you can improve your indoor air quality, you have to know what’s causing it. Common indoor air pollutants include:
- Dust and dust mites that accumulate on fabrics, furniture, and floors
- Pollen that has been tracked in from the outdoors
- Pet dander and hair
- Mold spores
- Smoke and cooking fumes
- Household chemicals from sprays, candles, air fresheners, and cleaners
- VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) that can be released from furniture, paint, and building materials
Solutions for Indoor Air Pollution: How to Improve Indoor Air Quality?
Improving your indoor air quality doesn’t have to be difficult, expensive, or time-consuming. Here are five quick and easy things you can do to get started:
1. Use a Home Air Filter and Replace it Regularly
Home air filters are the first line of defense against common allergens and pollutants. A high-quality home air filter, like a PUREFLOW® Home Air Filter with a MERV 13 layer, traps microscopic particles, such as dust and dander, from circulating through your home. Over time, these filters can become dirty and clogged, reducing their effectiveness and their ability to trap pollutants. You should replace your home air filter at least twice a year to keep your air clean.
2. Reduce Everyday Pollutants
A sneaky culprit of indoor air pollution is the products that we use every day, without even thinking about it. Certain cleaning supplies, hairsprays, air fresheners, candles, plug-ins, perfume, and even laundry detergent can release harmful pollutants into your indoor air. Many everyday household activities can quietly lower indoor air quality over time. Try reducing the amount you use them or switch to more natural alternatives.
3. Keep Your Home Clean
Dust, debris, and dander can accumulate and circulate throughout your home if you don’t keep up with cleaning. Cleaning your home regularly by dusting, vacuuming, and washing your bedding can help prevent these allergens from accumulating. You should dust, vacuum, and wash your bedding weekly, and create a deep-cleaning schedule (every couple of months) to tackle hard-to-reach or forgotten areas.
4. Let the Fresh Air in
Open your windows or doors for at least 10 minutes every day to provide natural ventilation. Doing this, even in winter, can improve indoor air quality by bringing in fresh outdoor air. The fresh air coming in can dilute and replace the polluted indoor air, making it healthier and easier to breathe.
5. Manage Humidity
Humidity can significantly affect indoor air quality. You should aim to keep your indoor humidity between 30% and 50%. If your home is too humid, it can promote the growth of mold, mildew, and dust mites.
Many things can negatively impact your indoor air quality, including pets, cleaning products, and even the furniture in your home. The good news is that improving your indoor air quality can be done with just a few simple changes, like keeping your house clean, reducing everyday pollutants, managing humidity, letting fresh air into your home, and using a high-quality home air filter.
By following these simple solutions for indoor air pollution, you can create a cleaner, healthier living space for your family.
Healthy homes use PUREFLOW®. Our Home Air Filters feature four layers of advanced filtration technology, including a MERV 13 layer, designed to trap even the smallest of particles to keep your air clean and healthy. Find the home air filter you need using our helpful tool.
Frequently Asked Questions About Indoor Air Quality
Q1. How can I check indoor air quality at home?
You can check indoor air quality by looking for common warning signs such as excessive dust buildup, persistent odors, allergy symptoms, visible mold, or high humidity levels. For more accurate results, you can use an indoor air quality monitor or an air quality test kit that measures particles, VOCs, and humidity levels. Understanding common air pollution sources inside and outside your home can help you take preventive action.
Q2. What are the symptoms of poor indoor air quality?
Common symptoms of poor indoor air quality include sneezing, coughing, headaches, fatigue, irritated eyes, worsening allergies, asthma flare-ups, and difficulty sleeping. If symptoms improve when you leave the house, indoor air pollution may be the cause.
