Have you ever wondered just how clean the air inside your home really is? Well, you’d better sit down because testing has shown that the air outside is often cleaner than the air inside our homes! Not sure how that’s even possible? Let’s take a look at some of the biggest culprits and learn a few simple ways to improve the quality of the air in our homes:
1. Change Air Filters Often
Even though the rule of thumb is to check air filters every 30 days and to replace them as needed (or at least once every 90 days), it is a good idea to change out your air filter once a month. This will prevent any dust, debris, or other pollutants getting trapped in your heating and cooling system and making their way back into your home.
2. Call An HVAC Professional For An Inspection And Cleaning
There’s no substitute for preventive maintenance, so before turning on your heating and cooling system for the season make an appointment to have an HVAC specialist perform a thorough inspection and cleaning of your system. Not only will a professional cleaning remove all dust and allergen-containing debris from your system’s heating ducts and pipes to keep it out of your home, an inspection will reveal any potential issues that could become serious problems later on, like right in the middle of extreme weather season.
3. Clean Your Walls On A Regular Basis
Although you cannot see them, pollutants are clinging to the walls in your home, just waiting for a passing breeze to carry them from room to room and person to person. Once a week, using a solution of warm water and a chemical-free cleaner that is safe for the paint on your walls, thoroughly wipe down the walls in your home along with doors, light switches, and door knobs.
4. Utilize Ceiling Fans And Portable Fans
When there is little or no circulation, the air in your home can become stale and uncomfortable-feeling. Place portable fans around your home to keep the air circulating freely. Fans placed in bedrooms tend to help deliver a better, more restful night’s sleep with less congestion and stuffiness in the morning. Ceiling fans can be used to distribute the warm air from your heating unit throughout your rooms. Set them on Reverse so that the air will remain warm and not
become cooled down by the fan. Remember to clean the blades on your ceiling fan regularly and to keep the blades and covers on portable fans clean as well.
5. Pay Attention To Cleaning Products And Other Chemicals In Your Home
You might want to take a look at the labels on your cleaning products, aerosol cans, and perfumes. Some of the ingredients in these items can be hazardous to our health over time. Some of them are even known to be cancer-causing. Choose products that are formulated with safe, natural ingredients, and keep the toxic chemicals out of your home and far away from your family members and pets.
6. Don’t Forget To Use Exhaust Fans
Modern exhaust fans are created not only to draw out air that has become dirty from cooking, smoking, etc, they are now designed to purify the air and recirculate it. Bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans can be invaluable at removing less-than-clean air. In the kitchen, air can become heavy with grease and other substances during cooking, and these substances find their way onto all sorts of surfaces where they stand by and wait to capture airborne debris and pollutants. An exhaust fan will remove the air and any unpleasant hitchhikers that may be clinging along for the ride. Remember to clean your exhaust fan regularly with warm, soapy water.
7. Keep Air Vents And Ducts Clean And Clear
At the same time you’re cleaning your walls, make sure you check the covers on your air ducts and heating vents. This is one of the first surfaces the air comes into contact with as it enters your home from your heating unit, so if dust and debris have been allowed to settle there, they will be picked up and dispersed throughout your home repeatedly. Make sure they are clean, dry, and free from any type of blockage at all times.
8. Pay Special Attention To Floors
It is likely that there are more germs on your floors than anywhere else in your home. A little something from every place that your family has traveled throughout their day gets carried into your home via the bottoms of their shoes. Even when your floors look sparkling clean those invisible and very unwanted guests are there, just waiting for someone to walk past and stir them up. Sweep and mop your floors on a regular basis with a chemical-free disinfectant cleaner. Remember to wash your broom and mop thoroughly when you are finished.
9. Place Air Purifiers Throughout Your Home
Air purifiers are great to have in practically any home, particularly homes where someone suffers from allergies, asthma, or some other respiratory issue. Place an air purifier in any room in your house that is heavily occupied, and in each bedroom to ensure a healthy and restful night’s sleep.
10. Give Special Attention To Pet Areas
You don’t have to be allergic to dogs or cats to experience irritation from their hair and dander when they shed. Be vigilant about keeping their sleeping areas and play areas as clean as possible. Regularly bathe them or take them to a professional groomer to be bathed. Wash their blankets and toys frequently. Our fur babies are as much our family members as anyone, and they will love being clean and pampered as much as you will love having your home hair and dander-free.
New Albany Heating and Cooling can help you improve the quality of air in your home just in time for the Winter months, when everyone will be spending so much time inside. Give us a call at 614-636-5002 or visit our website at www.newalbanyheatingcooling.com and let us get you set up with an appointment to have one of our expert HVAC technicians give your system a complete inspection and cleaning. We are here to meet all of your heating and cooling needs.
