Three Tips for Creating a Healthy Home Environment

A national survey conducted by the American Lung Association in May of 1999 (http://www.aerias.org/desktopdefault.aspx?tabindex=3&tabid=79) estimated that most Americans spend around 65% of their time in their homes, making indoor air quality a significant consideration for their health and well-being. The air inside of a home can be between 2 and 100 times worse for your health than the air outside, mainly due to a build-up of air pollutants in the indoor air.

Three Ways to Improve Indoor Air Quality

Poor quality indoor air can create significant health challenges for people of all ages. There are a number of methods that can be used to improve the air quality in your home and create a healthy home environment for yourself and your family. Apply the following tips in your own home to ensure that the air that you and your loved ones breathe is as clean as possible.

1. Ensure Adequate Ventilation
Many newer homes and homes that have had window and door upgrades are constructed to create nearly airtight seals around the windows and doors, increasing energy efficiency but trapping pollutants in the home. Ventilating the home regularly by opening the doors and windows, along with circulating the air using fans or other equipment, will replace the contaminated indoor air with fresh air from outdoors.

2. Use High Quality Air Filters
Picking a high quality air conditioner filter for filtering the air in your home can improve the air inside your home significantly, reducing the risk of health complications arising from poor air quality.

Air filters are used to remove contaminants from the indoor air as the air moves through the heating and cooling system of the home. High quality air filters trap a wide variety of indoor air pollutants, including dust, mold, and pet dander, and holds the contaminants in the filter material for easy disposal, effectively removing contaminants from the air.

3. Ensure All Equipment Is Working Properly
Malfunctioning equipment can contribute to an increase in the level of air pollutants in your home environment. Emissions from malfunctioning furnaces, stoves, space heaters, or dryers will accumulate in the air, causing concentrations of contaminants to reach and exceed harmful levels. Home HVAC equipment should be scheduled for maintenance according to the manufacturer’s specifications and malfunctioning equipment should not be used until it has been repaired.

Make Efforts to Improve Air Quality
The health and wellness of the family should be your highest priority when creating a healthy home environment. Because poor air quality can result in a number of devastating health conditions, some of which could be fatal, everything possible should be done to improve the air quality in the home.