While there are many organizations and political groups that focus on improving outdoor air quality in cities both large and small, who is concerned about indoor air pollution? There are laws to protect people in public indoor spaces from smoke inhalation and poor air quality, but who protects the homeowner or renters who have to put up with low air quality?
This is a concern that is mostly left to the individual. Government regulations may protect you from some indoor pollutants, and air conditioner industry standards can ensure decent air quality from those devices, but that still leaves you with many sources of potential air pollution to deal with on your own. If you are concerned about the quality of the air in your home, the following information should help.
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Clean Your HVAC System
Did you know that your air conditioning and heating system is designed to be cleaned every so often? This helps it to produce excellent air quality, and if you have lived in the same home for several years without cleaning your heating and cooling system, then you are probably experiencing the negative effects of a dirty system that is filled with pollutants and irritants. Your HVAC system should be cleaned out about once a year, in most instances. You also want to change your HVAC air filters as often as they need to be changed to stay clean. This may be as frequently as every four to six months.
Have Your Home Deep Cleaned
Wiping down countertops, washing dishes, and sweeping floors are just part of a larger cleaning effort that needs to happen to keep your home free of pollutants. Most homes are not cleaned often enough or thoroughly enough to provide the residents with good air quality. A deep cleaning can get rid of dust, pollen, mold, and other particles that could be hiding in the corners and crevices of your home and polluting the air supply. If you don’t clean your house thoroughly every so often, then the air quality can suffer.
Are you not sure if you can do a deep cleaning yourself because of limited time in your schedule or a lack of proper tools or training? Visit this cleaning service on Staten Island and see if they can help you with deep cleaning and other maid services you might need. Home cleaning is one of those basic things that people often forget about when it comes to trying to improve the air conditions in the home. Simply doing some cleaning regularly will help tremendously with the allergens like dust, pollen, and mold that are present in your home. The deeper you clean and the more frequently you clean, the less likely these irritants are to bother you.
Bring in Fresh Air
Does your home have a musty smell to it? That could be simply because the air in your home is stale and has been trapped in there for a long time. If air is not allowed to circulate and replenish, then it can become stale. The odors in the home can be more obvious, and air quality will diminish. This tends to happen when windows and doors are kept closed at all times, particularly during winter months when we try to keep cold air out and warm air in and air ventilation is poor.
What makes the air smell stale could simply be that the levels of carbon dioxide are higher than they should be, and oxygen is lower than they should be. Since we breathe out carbon dioxide and breathe in oxygen, we require fresh, circulating air to keep the gasses in the air at the right levels.
The solution to this problem seems obvious- open some windows and doors. That may be unpleasant in colder times of the year when we want to stay warm or during very hot months when we want to keep cool air from the AC unit trapped inside. Our recommendation is to open windows when the temperature is more pleasant. So, in cold months, ventilate the home naturally during the middle of the day, when the sun is at its highest and brightest. In summer, open windows in the morning and evening, when the air is coolest. This helps to keep a fresh supply for air circulating in the house.
Look for Mold
One of the biggest culprits of poor air quality in the home is the presence of mold. What can you do about it? First of all, you have to find it. See if you can find any water leaks or any pooled water in your home. Sniff for mold as well, since it has a distinctive musty, pungent smell, especially in enclosed spaces. You will most likely find mold in poorly ventilated areas where water is present, like the basement or laundry room.
You can get rid of mold by wiping it away with antimicrobial wipes and bacteria-killing cleaners. Also make sure to stop any leaks and clean up pool water. This will reduce the likelihood of mold forming in the home. If you think there may be mold present, but you aren’t sure where it is, then you can call in a mold remediation specialist to use high tech tools to detect mold wherever it may be. That specialist can tell you if there are mold spores present in the air and how high your mold levels are.
Pay Attention to Your Sinuses
There are many ways you can improve air quality at home, but you won’t always know there is a problem to deal with unless you are paying close attention. We urge you to assess your sinus health often and see if there are health issues there that could be caused by poor air quality. If you feel like your sinuses are stuffed up, irritated, or otherwise bothered when you spend long periods of time at home, then there are possibly air quality issues that need to be dealt with. Go over the list we have given you in this article and see if any of those problems are present.