The quality of the air you breathe has a major effect on your health and well-being. It is vital to make sure that the air quality in your home is as free of pollutants as possible. Poor air quality can cause or contribute to serious short- and long-term health problems and there are many potential polluting factors in the average home. Fortunately, it is possible to minimize or eliminate many of these without spending a bundle of cash or moving the family into a lean-to somewhere in the Alps.
Consider the Source
It is important to identify the sources of air pollution within the home. Some of the most common household pollutants include gas, oil, coal, or wood-burning heat sources. Proper adjustment and ventilation can minimize or dilute the amount of emissions. Properly adjusted heating systems cost less to operate, so it is a good idea to have a professional tune up and clean your system if you are not sure how to do it yourself. Other potential contributors to bad air quality include cigarette smoke, air fresheners, cleaning solvents, and pet hair and dander.
Ventilation
Proper ventilation can be as simple as opening windows whenever possible, but in many homes or apartments there are not enough windows to ensure proper ventilation, and of course, weather conditions may prevent their use in certain seasons. The ventilation of your home allows the bad stuff to go out and refreshes the entire space.
Clean your home regularly
Cleaning your home regularly will prevent the buildup of dust in the house. This will reduce the presence of the allergens indoors. It will reduce the presence of the dust mites, pollens and other allergy-causing particles.
It will also help if you choose natural products to clean your home. Refrain from using chemicals and pesticides when cleaning. Most of the cleaning aids available today have harsh chemicals that leave harmful residues in the air. Fortunately, manufacturers are more aware of the health damaged caused by these harmful substances, which has brought to more natural and organic options. Now that manufacturers are selling more safe products, we are seeing cheaper prices on these products.
Humidifier filter
One of the most important things that you should do often in order to keep your humidifier working correctly is to change the humidifier filters that comes with it. Many people make the mistake of overusing their humidifier and never changing the filter because they think that the filters are going to last a very long time. The truth is that the filter has the capability of lasting a very long time but as time continues to go by the filter is going to lose its effectiveness and this is going to affect the power of the humidifier itself.
This is why it’s very important that you change your humidifier filter often so that your humidifier can continue to work effectively and keep the allergies that are in your home atmosphere away from you and your family.
When should you change the filter?
Once you start noticing that the humidifier is not as effective as it was in the beginning you should check the humidifier by opening it up and see if the filter is dusty and black. If the filter is dirty then attempt to clean it and put it back to see if it will work properly. If the humidifier is not working properly and is still acting up then this means you have to replace the filter.
Many people get worry and think that their humidifier broke and that they would have to buy a new one and some people actually buy a new one without thinking twice of replacing the filter.
Featured photo credit: How to Improve the Air Quality in Your Home via google.com
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Source: Lifestyle