How healthy is your indoor air?
The EPA lists poor indoor air quality as the fourth largest environmental threat to our country.
It’s a scary thought that the air you are breathing inside your home can be so dirty. Most of our time is spent indoors whether it’s at home, work or out shopping. When a home has dirty air, those who have allergies and asthma suffer daily. A typical six room home can accumulate 40 pounds or more of dust every year just from living in it and doing normal day to day activities. There are a few things you can do to help keep your home fresher and keep respiratory issues at bay.
- Make sure your HVAC system filters are replaced whenever they are dirty. During peak allergy season, for instance, they may need to be replaced monthly. The dirtier the filters get, the less they can catch from getting into your home.
- Get your air ducts professionally cleaned. Now, this isn’t something you need to do once a year. It’s recommended to get them cleaned every 3-5 years, but it all depends on a lot of variables (location, pets, extent of allergies, etc.) Mold can grow in your ducts, dust and dirt collects, and pests (bugs and rodents) can crawl in there and die. We sometimes get calls from people telling us their ducts smelled like something died in them… and usually it’s because they did. We will come to your home and tell you if it’s worth your money to get your ducts cleaned.
- Use more natural methods to clean and freshen your home. Bleach works great to clean, but it’s a very harsh chemical. This website gives a lot of different options to clean without the chemicals. Homes can be freshened by using citrus fruits and natural herbs and spices. You can do some research online to find a scent that pleases your nose.
- Open your windows to air your home out when the weather is nice. Yes, you will get pollen and other pollutants coming in, but the breezy air coming in will be refreshing.
Just making small changes in your everyday life can improve the quality of air that you’re breathing and make you wonder how you lived with the odors in your home for so long without doing anything about them.
