How To Help Your Indoor Air Quality
Winter’s coming and for most of us that means keeping the windows and doors shut so as to keep out the cold. Unfortunately, that means a lot of dust, pollutants, allergens, and other nasty things end up stuck inside with us for months. Fortunately, there are many ways to combat this problem and we recommend you start implementing them now. After all, come December, Rudolph’s the only one who should have a red nose – not you.
1.) Ventilate ’em – One of the best ways to help with air quality is to make sure your home is properly ventilated. Now, in warmer months, opening windows and doors is the best way to do this, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything in winter. Whenever your doing stove-top cooking, use the hood to get rid of any smoke. Likewise, have the bathroom fan on whenever someone showers or bathes. This keeps the air-moisture down which in turn helps keep molds from forming.
2.) Dust Mites Extermination – Almost everyone hates dust mites. There may be a few scientists who find them worthy of study, but deep down they hate them as well. Not only are they extra creepy, but they’re bad for your home’s air quality. So how do you get rid of them? One way to fight off the horde is to wash your bed linens weekly, and another is to make sure your home’s humidity is kept lower than 50% lower humidity level to below 50%. Keeping pets off of furniture is also good, since the mites love pet dander. All of this will help you stave off those little guys. Those hateful, ugly little guys.
3.) Chemistry 101 – There are a lot of chemicals in most homes – a lot. Look under a sink and you’ll find bottles, tubes, and sprayers full of dozens of different kinds of chemicals. Of course, these are often very important to keeping a home clean, killing bacteria, and making the air smell like lavender (the last is clearly the most important.) Unfortunately, these chemicals are usually harmful for your air quality, so try to keep rooms well ventilated when you clean. Also, don’t store chemicals in the open, as they will release particles into the air even when not in use.
4.) Clean Up, Clean Up, Everybody Everywhere! – And one of the best ways to insure good air quality throughout the winter months is the least fun – good old cleaning. General vacuuming and dusting is highly recommended, but there are certain parts of you home that need more attention if you want to increase your air quality. Namely your refrigerator tray, your heaters, chimneys, and carpets. why? Since the tray captures any leaked water, it often becomes a breeding ground for mildews and molds. The heaters collect dust which, in turn, burns when the heaters are on. Poorly kept chimneys cause carbon monoxide to build up in your home. Finally, professional carpet cleaning and frequent vacuuming gets rid of dust mites, allergens, and contaminants trapped in your carpet.
Everyone here at Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning wishes you good luck and healthy air!
Thanks to Deborah Leader, Planet Green, and The Healthy House Institute.
