Indoor air quality is an incredibly important part of keeping a healthy home that many people don’t think about. The vast majority of us spend most of our time indoors. Our families deserve to be breathing the cleanest air possible. There are many things that you can do to make the air cleaner in your home. Read on to learn how!
1. Eliminate dust to achieve cleaner air in your home.
Dusting your home is important. It is a huge chore that many people overlook but a healthy home needs to be clean. Develop a routine that works for you that allows you to stay on top of the dust without it feeling overwhelming. If you try to dust your whole home at once, you are going to feel like it is too big of a task to ever accomplish. Do one room at a time, a few days a week, and it won’t feel like such a big deal. Invest in a good vacuum cleaner (cordless, to protect your sanity) with a HEPA filter. Oh, and don’t forget to clean the vacuum! A filthy vacuum isn’t going to work for you the way that a clean one could.
2. Fill your home with the right houseplants to improve air quality.
Houseplants do a lot more for your home than just adding beauty to it. If you are willing to fill your home with real plants, they will thrive and take care of you in turn by filtering the air that you breathe. Certain plants are better than others at cleaning the air. Snake plants are one of the best at removing VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) from the air. It is also the most low maintenance houseplant that I have ever come across. Some other plants that are amazing at cleaning the air include peace lilies and spider plants.
3. Breathe easy by utilizing the purifying power of activated charcoal.
Activated charcoal acts as a sponge for impurities. When ingested, it is amazing at removing toxins from the body. When left to sit around it will go to work absorbing impurities from the air. Leave it around your home in bags made of breathable fabric to naturally remove toxins and odors from the air in your home. Once a month, take these bags outside to reactivate in direct sunlight. These bags also do wonders in the refrigerator (instead of the classic box of baking soda) or stuffed inside stinky boots to neutralize unwanted smells.
4. Invest in high quality air purifiers to take the cleanliness of your indoor air to the next level.
Living in a place that is affected by wildfire smoke, I finally reached a point where I had no choice but to make the leap for air purifiers. In every room of my home…
Now while that may sound extreme, I’ll tell you, it was an absolute game changer! We needed cleaner air in our home. These little machines do an amazing job of keeping the air inside absolutely pristine. The speed at which they kick on full blast and filter out the smoke and smell after burning something in the kitchen, is nothing short of impressive.
5. Bring clean air in from outside by opening windows on a daily basis.
In most cases, the air outside of your home is cleaner than the air inside your home. Open up the windows in each room of your house for as long as conditions will permit. In areas with harsh winters, this will be difficult and you may not be able to open the house up for long. At least air things out for a few minutes each day to considerably improve the quality of the air in your home. A good way to bring as much fresh air as possible into your home during the cold winter months, without letting out all the heat, is to open up the windows in one room and shut the door. Leave the windows open for at least twenty minutes or so, and then open the door to let the fresh air rush into the rest of your living space.
6. Be mindful of the furniture you bring into your home.
The things we surround ourselves in our homes greatly impact the indoor air quality. Furniture is often full of a bunch of production chemicals that, if you aren’t careful, will fill your space with air that isn’t fit to breathe. New mattresses are notorious for this. Be aware of this when purchasing furniture for your home. Now this can be quite the rabbit hole, so remember to give yourself grace. Buying high quality items made of natural, organic materials is the ideal solution to this, though it isn’t always realistic financially. Let things air out in your garage for a considerable time before bringing them inside. Buying things second hand is another great way to ensure that things have already had a good amount of time to air out.
7. Clean your home with non toxic cleaning products.
This is one of the easiest things that you can change to make the air cleaner in your home! Cleaning with conventional products can fill your home with unwanted chemicals. These can be transferred to your children through the air and the surfaces themselves. Choosing natural cleaning products is better for your health and better for the planet.
My favorite place to find natural cleaning products is online at Grove Collaborative. They deliver everything you need to keep your home in shape right to your door. My favorite products are their cleaner concentrates. They come in small glass refill bottles that you can use to reuse their gorgeous glass spray bottles. Just add water and you have a whole new bottle of cleaner! They carry all purpose cleaner, glass cleaner, daily shower cleaner, and more! Their cleaner concentrates will save you time, money and they produce so much less waste! Click here to try them out! You won’t be disappointed.
8. Use fans in the bathroom and be sure to maintain proper ventilation in the kitchen while cooking.
Proper ventilation is important. Run your bathroom fan for approximately thirty minutes after showering to make sure extra moisture and humidity is removed from your bathroom. If the water is left to sit around, it could cause mold and mildew, which isn’t good for anyone! Another form of ventilation to be aware of is to make sure you are allowing airflow while cooking. Smoke and smells are produced in the kitchen, along with potential fumes from gas stoves. So turn on the fan in your kitchen! Open a window and let in some fresh air!