You might not notice it, but the air you breathe inside your home may not be clean either. Common pollutants that irritate your respiratory system and cause long-term harm to your health may be entering your home without your knowledge. The products you use and your activities may also be adding to the problem.
How can you ensure that you are inhaling fresh, clean, safe air inside your home? Here are some suggestions.
Ensure Proper HVAC Maintenance
Your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system, better known as HVAC, requires regular maintenance. It is responsible for the circulating air inside your home. If you want clean air, that is where you should start.
Call your local duct cleaning service to do a thorough inspection of your air ducts. They will remove dust and debris that may have accumulated in the area.
This is important if you want to breathe clean air while inside your house. Common allergens like molds can grow inside the components of your HVAC and pests like rodents can live inside your ducts. It is necessary, therefore, to get your HVAC properly maintained regularly to prevent problems that may seriously harm your health and your home.
Invest in an Air Purifier
An air purifier is an electronic appliance that promises to rid the indoor air of impurities, including smoke, dust, and odor. It has a filter that traps pollutants and allergens from the air, giving you clean air to breathe.
It will also get rid of some toxic gasses that may be present in your home.
Having an air purifier can be quite expensive. Aside from the appliance, the filter has to be changed frequently to effectively clean indoor air.
However, it might be worth it for those who live with respiratory problems. It will remove particles that may aggravate your symptoms when inhaled such as dust, mold spores, and pollen. It will also remove unpleasant smells.
Get a Houseplant
Is breathing clean indoor air as easy as buying a houseplant? It can be. There are houseplants that have been proven to improve the quality of air inside an enclosed space by inhaling the nasty chemicals and then exhaling fresh oxygen.
Some houseplants are better at absorbing certain chemicals than others. Dracaenas, for example, can remove benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, toluene, and xylene from the air. Chrysanthemums, on the other hand, can remove ammonia in addition to benzene, formaldehyde, and xylene.
Know Your Common Indoor Air Pollutants
However, the best thing you can do for your health is to be aware of the most common pollutants found in indoor air and where they are coming from.
Did you know that the cleaning products you use may contain harmful chemicals that linger in the air? Cooking appliances, too, is a source of particulate matter that may irritate your respiratory system.
In some homes, building materials might also be potential sources of pollutants.
When you know what kinds of pollutants are present in the air, you will have an idea of how to keep them out of your home. You can switch to using cleaning products that do not have toxic chemicals as ingredients or keep the windows open whenever you clean the house to let the fumes out.
Air pollution is already a problem outside your house. Do not let it harm you and your family whenever you are indoors, too. These are some actions you can take to prevent air pollution in your home.
