Alpine Air Technologies – Blog

Let’s face it: we spend most of our lives indoors. But have you ever thought about the quality of the air you breathe? In reality, air contains dust, dampness, and objectionable odors. But most people will rarely recognize when the air is not good.

If you don’t address the root cause of the problem, you can experience short-term effects like irritation of the eyes and throat, shortness of breath, headaches, sinus congestion, among others. This brings us to the question, how can you improve indoor air quality?

1.  Clean The Air Ducts

With time, the air ducts in your HVAC unit can attract mold, dust, bacteria, dead insects, and all kind of debris. Such contaminants can spread in your home or office causing air-borne infections. If you don’t address the problem area, the debris can spread a bad odor. Besides, the contaminants can affect the nasal passage and trigger respiratory infections.

If you’ve been sneezing in your home, you should blame the air ducts. When you don’t clean them, it means that the dust will linger in circulation. And this can be catastrophic if you have a family member who suffers from allergies.

Cleaning the air ducts of your HVAC unit is not a task that you should assign to a professional. With the right tools, you can do the job without additional help. You need a furnace filter, vacuum, gloves, brush, and a power drill.

To start with, you should remove the air duct and cover the supply vents. After that, you should set the thermostat on. This will help to move the dust as you clean the unit. Then, you should tap the duct to loosen the dust – this will also break the deposits.

Now you can begin sweeping the unit with the vacuum. Finally, you should use a microfiber cloth to reach for dust as its being pushed out.

If you want to improve indoor air quality, you should clean the air ducts once a month.

2.  Don’t Forget To Dust The House

We all struggle with dust in our homes. Sometimes we clean, only for it to creep back. And because dust is made of intrusive elements, it can increase the risk of illnesses and allergies. In severe cases, it can lead to asthma and hay fever.

How do you dust? You can start by removing all the stuff on the furniture. This is better than picking an item and dusting it.

The cloth you use for dusting also matters. Most cleaning experts recommend a microfiber cloth that can hold all the dust particles. If you use traditional dusters, you could leave residue just like spray cleaners. And the last thing you want is to use a duster only for the debris to settle back on your furniture.

After dusting the furniture, you should clean the area around them with a vacuum cleaner. You should also pay attention to the bottom of the furniture. If dust irritates your allergies, you should wear a mask.

A quality vacuum cleaner can be a powerful force against pollen, pet hair, and any dust that can irritate your respiratory system. According to home cleaning experts, a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter will eliminate 99% of particles.

Don’t forget to change your beddings regularly as this will keep the dust mites at bay. If you’re a pet lover, make sure you clean the coat regularly and vacuum the floor and carpets.

3.  Control The Humidity Levels At Home

We all know that proper humidity level is vital for our health. But if it becomes too high, certain germs will thrive. A general rule of thumb is to maintain the humidity levels above 30% but below 50%. So, what should you do when the humidity levels are too low?

Low humidity levels can cause dry skin and make you susceptible to respiratory illness. One way to remedy this problem is to use a humidifier.

Depending on your needs, you can choose a cold or warm mist humidifier. The cold units have a wick that absorbs water, while the latter uses a heating element before absorbing water. If you’re looking for easy-to-use units, you should go for a portable model.

By the way, in rare cases you might experience no mist coming out of your humidifier, or it might be leaking water. Don’t worry, just check the humidifier troubleshooting guide.

4.  Increase Ventilation

Proper ventilation allows clean air to get in the house to eliminate harmful pollutants. Even in cold months, you should turn on the attic fans and open the windows. While this may look like an old-fashion style, opening doors and windows can double the ventilation rates.

If you live close to a busy road, you should avoid opening the windows during rush hours. You can do that once a week to allow fresh air in and keep it rotating.

Another strategy is turning on the HVAC units to pump the air in all rooms. Because they suck the air with exhaust systems, you’ll experience a lower concentration of viruses in the house.

If a family member suffers from allergies, you should open the doors and windows when the pollen is at its lowest (late at night or after sunrise).

5.  Buy Indoor Plants To Freshen The Air

Certain household pollutants like snake plants, lilies, Chinese evergreen, English Ivy, Spider plant, weeping fig, and Golden Pathos can help to purify indoor air. More specifically, they minimize the effects of pollutants like carbon monoxide, ammonia, and formaldehyde.

While these plants may require different environmental conditions, they are easy to care for. If you buy the plant online, be sure to read the tag to understand the best environmental conditions. But there’s a caveat to this – indoor plants can promote mold growth and affects humidity levels.

To combat this problem, you should allow the water to drain into a tray. Of course, you may want to cover the topsoil with aquarium gravel or Spanish moss.

6.  Bonus Tip: Use An Air Purifier

An air purifier offers an effective way to tackle stale indoor air quality such as the Classic LA-3500. You should place the units in commonly used rooms and other strategic areas.

While an air purifier won’t ventilate the room, it will help improve air quality by removing air pollution. These units can be helpful during the hay season. Keep in mind the best models are programmable and can release negative ions to neutralize bacteria and viruses in the air.

If you want to improve indoor air quality, you should make the above golden tips part of your cleaning routine.