6 Ways to Improve Your Indoor Air Quality

Clean air is essential for good health, both indoors and out. If the air quality in your home is poor, you and your family can be at serious risk for a number of health issues. Poor air circulation, as well as dust, mold and other pollutants present in your HVAC system, can greatly impact your health and can make being in your own home almost unbearable. Despite popular belief, the air inside your tightly sealed home can be much more polluted than the air outside.

Six Ways to Improve Your Indoor Air Quality

• HVAC maintenance: Having your forced-air HVAC equipment maintained regularly is key to improving indoor air quality. Dust and mold can collect in your heating and cooling systems. Having a professional maintain and clean your system can improve your overall health.
• Clean the floors: Allergens and pollutants can collect on the floors of your home (as well as other surfaces) and can make it difficult to breath. Vacuuming, mopping and dusting regularly can decrease pollutants in the air, improving indoor air quality.
• Monitor humidity levels: Dust and mold thrive in moist environments. By monitoring humidity levels, you can decrease mold, bacteria and other contaminants in the air. Attack humidity by eliminating its sources if possible, cleaning up any dampness where it occurs, and installing a whole-house dehumidifier if your humidity problem is widespread in your home.
• Install carbon monoxide detectors that show CO levels: Carbon monoxide can be lethal but low levels also signal that your air may contain other unwanted fumes. Having working carbon monoxide detectors in your home is essential to protecting your health and improving indoor air quality.
• Test for radon: Often overlooked, radon is an odorless gas that can cause lung cancer and other health issues. Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. Having a professional test radon levels in your home will not only improve the air quality in your home, it can save lives.

Inspect and change your HVAC filter regularly. This will help your heating and cooling equipment work smoothly, while keeping airborne pollutants at bay.

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