With warmer weather comes a desire for a spring-fresh, clean home. It makes sense to consider improving indoor air quality. Home should be a place where you breathe, relax, and unwind. The air can easily become polluted by chemical-based cleaners, dust, and lack of movement during the cooler months. One way to harness clean air is by adding the benefits of natural light. When combined with a few indoor air quality solutions, you’ll bring the renewal of spring indoors.
How to Improve Air Quality in Your Home Naturally
Most people spend between 80% and 90% of their time indoors. Ensuring the space is as healthy as possible is crucial to long-term well-being. If you’re interested in better air quality, enhance the space without using anything disruptive to the house’s balance. You might be surprised how sunlight helps the situation. Add a few well-placed tools, and you’ll never struggle for clean air again.
1. Let Sunshine In
Open the curtains and let the sunshine in. Sunlight offers UV rays, which can sterilize the air in your home, dry out any areas holding excessive moisture, and support indoor plants. UV radiation may kill harmful bacteria, fungi, and viruses, reducing infections and controlling allergies.
Keeping an overly-moisturized space at the correct humidity levels makes it less prone to mold and mildew, too, which can prevent harmful spores from triggering all types of health issues.
If you live in an urban area, sunlight could be in short supply as buildings sit right against one another and can block the rays. Look into the possibility of skylights if on a top level. Even a small amount of natural light can positively affect your indoor air quality, plants and other factors that improve well-being.
2. Flush Out Stale Air
Adding some ventilation to indoor air is wise if your area’s air pollution is acceptable. Opening windows and creating a cross-breeze pushes old air out and pulls new air into your dwelling.
Opening the doors to a patio area on one side of the house and then opening a window or another door with a screen on the opposite side creates strong ventilation. You can also use overhead fans, window units or attic ventilation to improve indoor air quality. Ceiling fans work well in summer when spinning counterclockwise to create a downward draft, pushing air down through your house. A bonus of throwing open a patio door is that more natural light streams in, bringing with it all the advantages of UV light, while fans or other devices boost circulation.
3. Bring in Houseplants
You can also purify your indoor air with some houseplants. Greenery puts out oxygen and absorbs carbon dioxide. Giving your indoor plants enough sunlight will help them thrive and support air quality, too.
4. Use Airwashers
While air purification systems are one of the most effective ways of reducing PM2.5, PM10 and VOCs, setting up ventilation may still have some benefits for those in areas with high pollution.
However, in areas with heavy manufacturing or urban pollutants, adding an Airwasher, humidifier, or air purifier to your home could be a better option. The function of air purifiers and Airwashers varies. A purifier filters airborne pollutants, including pet dander and dust.
An Airwasher simultaneously humidifies while cleaning the air. Airwashers use the most hygienic, natural method of evaporative humidification to hydrate your air while ridding it of indoor air pollutants through a HEPA filter. Even in high-pollen months, Airwashers remove 99.7% of contaminants from indoor air. These machines offer benefits for those with allergies or who desire a healthier living environment.
5. Reduce Use of Chemicals
When you allow sunlight into your house, you are helping naturally clean and disinfect things. You’ll have less need to use chemicals in the environment. Enhance this by only selecting nontoxic cleaning agents. Removing abrasive chemicals in your home can make a huge positive impact on your sinuses, breathing and overall well-being.
Improve Your Air Today
Finding the right combination of indoor air quality products alongside natural ventilation and sunshine can help you be healthier. Sunshine is a free investment that complements other measures, such as airwashing. A few tweaks to your routine can leave a home squeaky clean – even in ways you can’t see but can feel.
