10 Simple Steps For Better Indoor Air Quality

Photo credit: monkeysox

If your child suffers from seasonal allergies, spring is a tough season for both of you to go through. One of the things you can do to improve your child’s quality of life during this season is to improve air quality in the home. Here are five tips for creating cleaner home air:

1. Don’t allow smoking in your house. Secondhand smoke can cause serious health problems, especially for children.

2. Good ventilation reduces indoor air pollution: open your windows as often as possible.

3. Keep humidity levels low with a dehumidifier or an air conditioner. Clean both regularly.

4. Install a good home air filter in your air conditioner. Pollen, mold spores, dust, dirt, smoke or smog and pet dander in the HVAC filter or furnace filter can cause expensive system failures. Upgrading to a “pleat guard” home air filter will keep dirt off the evaporator coil, keeping air flow moving, while improving cooling capacity.

5. When buying an air filter, look for one that holds the dust. An excellent quality HVAC filter is anti-mircobial and electrostatically charged - similar to when dust is attracted to a TV screen. This means airborne allergens smaller than one micron will be captured on the air filter - not by the human lungs - producing clean and pure HVAC air quality in the home.

6. Change the filter on your furnace or air conditioner every three months. Mark this on your calendar.

7. Clean regularly. Wash bedding in hot water. Consider replacing carpet with area rugs that can be washed often.

8. Use only “green,” non-toxic cleaning detergents.

9. Avoid using “air fresheners.” They mask bad odors, but home air quality pays a price.

10. Get rid of pests such as roaches and rodents. They are a major cause of asthma and allergies.

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