How To Improve Indoor Air Quality

When people think of air pollution, they often think of the outdoors, rather than considering indoor air quality. They think about cars and factories filling the atmosphere with smoke. In places like Los Angeles, this smog is often visible to the naked eye, making it easy to really grasp the scope of the problem. Once people get inside, though, they stop thinking about air quality at all because the air, even when it is filled with debris and toxins, looks clean.

However, reducing pollution within the air that is inside your home is as important as the air outside. After all, this is the air that you breathe all day long. On top of that, it can become trapped within your home and recycled, meaning that you are breathing it time and time again. There is not much that you can personally do for the outside air, but you should at least make sure that your home is a safe haven where you can breathe easily, no matter where you live.

There are a few different indoor air quality solutions that you should consider. First, you may want to think about installing high-caliber air filters on your heating and cooling system. For most systems, the filter will be mounted right near the furnace, perhaps even on the main duct that runs up from the furnace to the rest of the house. This filters all of the air from both the furnace and the AC unit before you breathe it in. Ideally, you should change this air filter at least once a month. This is the best way to filter the outside pollution so that it does not invade your home.

Along with these quality air cleaners, you also want to make sure that your house has adequate ventilation. Air needs to be able to move and circulate in order to stay clean. If it becomes trapped in one place for too long, it becomes stagnant and dirty. This is especially true if you do things in the house that add to the pollution, such as using paints that emit strong fumes. If opening and closing the windows is not enough, you may want to think about adding a powered, forced air ventilation system.