Improving the Air Quality in Your Home

Owned by Ben Reed (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Oct 31, 2019
3 min read
What's the best way to rid my home from airborne pollutants


Improving indoor air quality can be difficult, especially since there are so many factors - both from within and outside the home - that contribute to the problem.

We recently completed a poll that asked home owners what they currently do to improve the air quality in their home. The respondents (N=504) were able to select multiples (or none) to indicate how they currently try to clean their air.

We were surprised with how many people (nearly 1/3!) were using air fresheners to improve air quality. Unfortunately, air fresheners just cover up the problem instead of fixing it - even contributing to the problem more in some cases.

Instructions

Fortunately, there are many tried and trued methods of improving indoor air quality. We've taken the time to summarize them for you here.

  1. Increase ventilation - This is the single most important thing you can do to improve air quality. Opening the windows often helps, but not if there is a lot of pollen, wildfire smoke, or other outdoor pollutants. Your central system has the capacity to cycle all of the air in your home 3-10 times per hour while pushing it through the filter. If you have HAVEN, the Air Controller will make sure this happens, even without heating or cooling!

  2. Change your filters - whether you have portable air purifiers or a central air system, you need to replace their filters at the appropriate time. With HAVEN, we remove the guess work for you!

  3. Cooking habits - always turn on the exhaust fan while cooking, and consider using cooking oil with a higher smoke point. Oil with a low smoke point will burn and smoke at a lower temperature, which can cause poor air quality for hours after cooking.

  4. Clean regularly - regular dusting and vacuuming (with an appropriate vacuum filter) will keep the dust down. Washing the sheets, drapes, and other large fabric surfaces every week will get rid of allergens and dust mites. Also, be sure to use natural cleaners to avoid being exposed to harmful chemicals.

  5. Keep the humidity in check - High humidity levels can cause mold to grow, and low humidity can cause paint to chip, wood to crack, and exacerbate respiratory illnesses. Keeping the humidity around 45% (or between 30-60%) is ideal.

  6. Plant care - Many people believe that certain house plants can improve air quality. While plants do absorb harmful chemicals and release oxygen, there is often not enough light for photosynthesis, and you would need a fairly high number of plants to see any substantial change.

  7. Remove contaminants - Many people have containers of half-used chemical products, such as paints, cleaners, automotive products, and other substances. Even if you think the containers are sealed properly, harmful chemicals can still off-gas into the surrounding air. Storing these in the garage or shed will ensure that your indoor air isn't being affected.

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