Do you want to improve the quality of the air you are breathing while spending time inside your home? Some homeowners do not realize that their indoor air quality is negatively impacted by many things, including clogged filters and pet hair. The good news is that there are several ways to improve indoor air quality, which can be done quickly and easily, in a home of any size.
Ways to Improve Indoor Air Quality
Keep Indoor Plants
Plants can improve air quality by absorbing any harmful pollutants in the air while giving off fresh oxygen. It is essential to know which plants are best for keeping the air inside a home, both clean and fresh.
Weeping figs are a top choice because of their ability to absorb those pollutants that can often decrease indoor air quality. Along with weeping figs, spider plants, Chinese evergreens, and peace lilies are a great choice.
I’ve NEVER been able to keep indoor plants alive, so I’m going to ask my niece, Nell, for some pointers. She has a real green thumb and is wiz at succulents. I recently gifted her an adorable toilet planter, which she immediately filled with a succulent and it is flourishing. I also got the Planta app (Download for free, Premium Subscription is $35.99/year), which will allow me to set up an individual care schedule and reminders for my plants. It will also give me recommendations, step by step guides, identification, light meter and more. Check this out – the app will notify me when it’s time to water, fertilize, mist, clean and repot. The premium subscription grants me access to Dr Planta and the plant expert team and identifying plants without any limit. So, if I unintentionally sabotage a plant, there’s help at my fingertips!
Use an Air Purifier
Invest in a good air purifier that works to get rid of any contaminants in the air. You might not see these contaminants, but they exist, and it is best to get rid of them when you want to have the freshest air possible to breathe in at home. If you are getting an air purifier, make sure it is a HEPA one because that means it is highly efficient.
We recently bought a new home and moved, and it’s incredible the difference in the amount of dust from our former home to our new home. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why our new house is SO dusty, but it is. So, we got an Okaysou AirMax8L Medical Grade Air Purifier. I chose this particular air purifier because it is supposed to cover 800 square feet.
Here are the specs on this air purifier:
- The AirMax8L Air Purifier is a multi-use air purifier- it is an odor eliminator, air deodorizer, and it captures 99.97% of air pollutants like dust, pollen , smoke, pet dander and hair, household odors as small as 0.25 microns. While we don’t smoke, we do have a dog, so if it captures pet dander and reduces indoor allergens, I am ALL for it.
- This medical grade air purifier utilizes a turbine motor with 45 vanes, and larger air inlet area (14.17 x 9.52 inches) work together to take in more air and effectively remove pet hair, stubborn odors, smoke and allergens.
- Having an air purifier with a child lock is important when you have kiddos, and this one has it.
- It has a sleep mode.
- The filter replacement indicator plus auto shut-off protection helps you make sure it performs optimally.
- This air cleaner uses 3-Stage Ultra Filtration and 2-Stage Duo Filtration to capture pet dander and pet hair, making it ideal for pet homes. It is able to circulate air up to 1.5x per hour in a room size of 800 square feet (3x per hour in 500 sq.ft / 5x per hour in 320 sq.ft).
- The quiet air purifier uses Silenceboost Technology to clean the air in your home with the lowest noise level of 28dB. On the lowest setting, I can’t hear it at all. And on the highest setting, it doesn’t bother our dog, who barks at EVERYthing.
- This compact air purifier fits in any room, any home.
- Superior Safety – CE, FCC, ETL, and CARB certified. 100% Ozone Free. 5-year warranty plus lifetime US based customer support. Search the affordable and easy-to-reach Duo-filter (B07KCBGRS2) and Ultra-filter (B07KC81LCN) to maintain optimum purification performance.
- It is easy to set up. Literally, unbox it, remove all the plastic from the filters, and plug it in.
Pet Grooming
You love your pets, but those hairy animals will easily shed throughout the home. The pet hair and dander particles end up in the air, leading to poor air quality. If you want to avoid this problem, simply groom your pets, or take them in for routine grooming to keep the shedding at bay.
Our dog has anxiety, so trips to the groomer are NOT ideal. To manage his anxiety, we handle the grooming ourselves. When we groom him, it’s either in the backyard or on the front porch, where it’s easier to clean up the mess and it’s not flying through the air inside. We use a Wahl Pet Grooming Kit to keep his coat trimmed.
Shed control shampoo is also part of our routine, especially when his coat does start to grow out but isn’t quite ready for a trim.
Like I said, he has anxiety, so grooming him is no easy task. It doesn’t happen as often as I’d like, because I really don’t like to have to give him the doggie anxiety medicine. The shed control shampoo helps in between clippings.
Replace Filters in Air Conditioning Units
The filters inside your air conditioning units will need to get cleaned regularly. If you are not cleaning them, they will have an accumulation of dust and dirt on them. How often you clean or change the filter depends on the type of filter you are using and your household. A 1” disposable filter should typically be replaced every 1 to 3 months. If you have pets, or live in a dusty house, you may need to adjust the frequency. Thicker high-efficiency filters may last up to 6 to 12 months, again dependent on your home.
Regardless of the type of filter you have, air filters and furnace filters should be checked every 2-4 weeks. If they are dirty they should be changed with a fresh clean air filter. A dirty filter makes your units less efficient. It also diminishes your efforts to improve the quality of the air you are breathing in at home. Clean and/or replace your filters routinely for the best results. If you’re like me, you may need to add it to your “tasks” calendar at regular intervals. Otherwise, if it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind.
Check the Home for Traces of Mold
If you have mold growth in the home, it can release toxins harmful to humans and pets’ health. You should look for mold while cleaning the home.
It is common to find it in moist areas, such as the bathroom, kitchen, and basement. If you see mold, clean it with a highly-effective cleanser or call in the professionals for mold removal assistance.
These are some of the steps you can take to improve indoor air quality at home. Most people would want to get rid of all those unwanted pollutants and contaminants in the air in their home. We all want to breathe in the freshest air possible at home, take these simple steps to achieve your goal. What tips would you add to this list as far as how to improve indoor air quality?
