Keeping your Northern Virginia home’s air fresh and clean doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Here are six ways to reduce indoor air pollution without overspending.
1. Invest in Houseplants
One of the most budget-friendly ways to improve indoor air adds color and brightens your home at the same time. Adding houseplants to various rooms in your home also greatly improves the air quality in a natural way. For instance, philodendrons absorb airborne formaldehyde emitted by furniture and carpet, while Chinese evergreens absorb toxins from many household cleaning products. Chrysanthemums absorb benzene and other chemicals from interior paint.
For best results, incorporate small arrangements in bedrooms and bathrooms as well as in the kitchen. Many household plants absorb a number of harmful chemicals, so having a mix of greenery throughout your home will help you breathe clean.
2. Cut the Chemicals
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a major contributor to indoor air pollution and come from a number of household items and supplies ranging from interior paint and new carpet to inexpensive furniture. Over time, the adhesives and chemicals in these items off-gas, making the VOCs airborne. Once airborne, the chemicals circulate through your home’s air conditioning system and indoor air supply.
Though you can take steps to remove VOCs from the air, it’s often easiest and cheapest to avoid them in the beginning. When you’re looking to remodel or upgrade, seek out low-VOC paint, carpet, and furniture to greatly reduce the presence of these allergens in your home.
3. Upgrade to a Whole-Home Air Purifier
When you’re dealing with seriously polluted air, a whole-home air purifier can help you achieve consistently cleaner air without a second thought. An air purifier serves as the primary cleaner for your home’s HVAC system.
The top air purifiers sold by Griffith capture up to 95 percent of the pathogens circulating through the air, neutralizing them so they no longer act as allergens. These devices process and purify up to eight cycles per hour, effectively eliminating dander, pollen, smoke, and other allergens from the air.
4. Keep It Clean
Keeping your home neat with frequent tidying and regular deep cleaning sessions can do wonders for your indoor air quality—without hurting a tight budget. Since some of the most frequent allergy triggers can be found in the dust and dirt that accumulate in your home, capturing them before they circulate through the air is a smart move.
About once a week, make a point of dusting surfaces throughout your home using a slightly damp cloth. You’ll capture pet dander, dust, and insect droppings that collect on tables and shelves. Next, mop hardwood floors and vacuum carpets to collect dust mites and mold spores. If you use cleaning products, make sure they’re as natural as possible so they don’t pollute the air with VOCs.
5. Replace Old Carpeting
Aging carpet harbors allergens like dust mites and dander that can get into your HVAC system and circulate through your home’s air when disturbed. You can increase the lifespan of old carpeting by vacuuming it thoroughly and steam cleaning it frequently, but sometimes it’s best to start from scratch.
Consider replacing old carpeting with new hardwood floors, laminate floors, or fresh carpeting. No matter what option you choose, remember to pick a low-VOC flooring type and maintain a regular cleaning routine to keep your home’s air fresh.
6. Lower Moisture Levels
If you’re not in the market to redecorate your home, you can improve your home’s airflow in other ways. Many homes in Northern Virginia suffer from high humidity, and in addition to being an uncomfortable nuisance, excess moisture can aggravate allergies.
To get a handle on the humidity in your home, look into installing whole-home dehumidifier. This device helps you keep humidity at a reasonable level, which in turn helps keep allergens like dust mites at bay. With great humidity control, you can also put moisture-loving allergens like mold out of your mind.
If your home needs a breath of fresh air, call the indoor air quality professionals at Griffith Energy Services for a consultation: (888) 474-3391.
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