7 Tips to Improve Air Quality in Your Home

Today’s tightly sealed homes make it easier to stay comfortable indoors in every season, but they can also trap a host of pollutants inside. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the air inside the average home is typically more polluted than the outdoor air in even the largest industrial city. With most people in America spending up to 90 percent of their time indoors, it’s more important than ever to take steps to improve your home’s air quality. These seven strategies from Handyman Connection of Lexington can help everyone breathe healthier air at home.

1. Keep Allergens Out

Thanks to the region’s high pollen counts, Lexington ranks as one of the nation’s most challenging places to live for people who suffer from allergies. Many allergens find their way indoors by hitching a ride on your family’s clothing and shoes. Designating a spot by the front door for coats, backpacks and shoes helps keep allergens from infiltrating your home.

2. Change Air Filters Regularly

Central heating or cooling systems have filters that help keep dust and other pollutants from circulating through your home. Changing these affordable filters at regular intervals helps clean the air. Labeling a stack of filters with the months of the year makes it easier to remember when it’s time to change the filter.

3. Control Humidity Levels

Biological pollutants like mold, mildew and bacteria thrive in moist environments. Because air conditioners extract water vapor as well as heat from the air, keeping your AC in tip-top condition goes a long way toward controlling your home’s humidity levels. Installing and running exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathroom helps keep moisture at bay too.

4. Dust and Vacuum Frequently

Good housekeeping is one of the most effective ways to battle indoor air pollution. Airborne particulates settle on your furnishings and belongings, and just walking around your home can reintroduce them into the air. For best results, consider investing in a vacuum equipped with a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, which can block 99.997 percent of particles size 0.3 micron or larger.

5. Seal the Ducts

Unless properly sealed against leaks, the ductwork used in forced-air HVAC systems can become a source of indoor air pollution. Leaky ducts can draft in pollutants and moisture from outside, making them the ideal breeding ground for everything from dust mites to mold spores. Sealing the ducts not only eliminates leaks but results in lower energy bills and better system performance too.

6. Grow Indoor Plants

Plants not only generate life-giving oxygen and take in carbon dioxide but also have an extraordinary knack for filtering toxins from the air. Microorganisms that live in the soil around the roots of plants convert the harmful chemicals that are off-gassed from items like carpets, building materials and household products into food for the plants.

7. Redecorate!

If you or a family member suffers from allergies, asthma or other respiratory ailments, limiting the use of allergen-harboring carpets and rugs in your home can help alleviate symptoms. Clearing away clutter and streamlining surfaces makes it easier to control allergens too. Your efforts to improve the air quality of your home can enhance its look and style as well.
If you lack the time or energy it takes to make your home a healthier place to inhabit, the professionals at Handyman Connection of Lexington are ready and able to do the work for you.
To learn more about our indoor air quality ideas and solutions, just give us a call today or click here to request a free, no-obligation project estimate!