How to Improve Indoor Air Quality
Air quality is easy to overlook, but when you do, you suffer for it. Anyone who has to deal with allergies can attest to the importance of air quality. But even if you don’t have such a condition, better air is obviously a worthy goal. The truth is that you have more power over your indoor air quality than you likely assume. There are a ton of things you can do to improve your indoor air quality, and we’re going to show you some of the easiest and most effective.
Clean or Change Your Air Filter
Your HVAC system should have an air filter, and over time, it collects dirt and pollutants. If your air filter is of high enough quality, you can clean it before replacing it, but for most systems, replacing the air filter is the better choice. When you do this, the filter is able to collect more of those particles out of the air, and your air quality improves. When you blow air through a dirty filter, it doesn’t have the same impact.
Most HVAC systems benefit from changing the air filter every one to three months. Your air filter box will have a recommended lifespan on it, and you can usually follow that with no worries.
Clean or Service the Air Ducts
Even when you’re regularly changing the filters, particles build up within the HVAC system. Primarily, you’ll find them in the air ducts. Have you ever looked inside of your ducts? If you do, you’ll probably be surprised by the dust, hair, and other stuff that can collect in there.
One of the easiest ways to tell when the ducts are getting dirty is to look at the grates over them. The grates collect whatever particles are blowing through the system. If they have a collection of fuzz, then you’ll find the same stuff in your ducts. Cleaning the grates definitely helps, but you should regularly have the ducts cleaned and serviced too.
Clean Your Floors
It might be counterintuitive, but one of the best ways to improve indoor air quality is to clean your floors and surfaces. Any smooth surface can collect dust. It’s easy to send that dust flying when you turn on the AC or a fan. You can also kick it up when you walk or do other activities.
If you have carpet or rugs, they’ll collect even more dust and particles, and you won’t always see how they spray into the air with every step you take. A vacuum cleaner is sufficient most of the time. Regularly vacuum the floors and dust your other surfaces. Your air quality will instantly improve.
Battle Humidity
When humidity reigns inside of a building, it leads to the growth of molds, mildews, and other microbes. They release spores, by-products, and all manner of other things that you don’t want to be breathing. While you can scrub and disinfect to keep these things at bay, the best cure is dry air.
Your air conditioner does a lot to dehumidify the air, but you can supplement its efforts with a dedicated dehumidifier. It’s especially important to have that dehumidifier during the months when your AC is off.
Get Indoor Plants
Indoor plants act as natural air filters. They take in a lot of things that you don’t want to breathe and process them. As part of that process, the plants release fresh, clean oxygen. You don’t have to grow a jungle in the house, but having a potted plant in any large living area will go a long way toward cleaning your air.
Add Dedicated Air Purifiers
You can always get technological with your solution. A dedicated air purifier will pull tons of particles out of the air, and they’re especially helpful if you struggle to control pet dander. Plants do a lot for filtering air, but they don’t do much for the dander. Passive air purifiers are very affordable to operate, and a single purifier can handle a surprisingly large volume of air. If you really need to, you can have more than one purifier in the house.
All of these tips can help, and they do even better when you mix and match them. When you keep your HVAC and surfaces clean, your air will already be a ton better. Add in some natural filtration or a dedicated air purifier, and you’ll be breathing easier than ever before.
Then again, cleaning air ducts isn’t the easiest thing in the world. For that, you can call Metro Express Service. We offer indoor air quality testing and maintenance services in Dallas/Fort Worth that ensure you’re breathing the best possible air.
