Keep Your Home Clean: Air Quality Tips
Kids are back in school. Summer is winding down. And the germs are flying.
When the kids are back in the classroom, and families are returning home after vacation, germs make their way into our homes, whether we like it or not. With so many germs flying around, it’s important that you keep you and your family safe and healthy. And the quality of your heating and cooling system have A LOT to do with the cleanliness of your home. In fact, your home likely has more indoor air pollutants than you know. Coming off of summer, it’s especially important that you pursue an air quality refresh because high temperatures and humidity can increase your home’s air pollution.
That being said, we’ve compiled a list of essential tips to start the cool season off strong!
1. First and foremost, CLEAN!
One of the best ways to keep germs out of your home is to pull out the Lysol and wipe your high-touch surfaces regularly.
2. Change your air filters.
This is a simple thing that many people don’t think about. Your air filters are important in catching many air pollutants that your Lysol can’t. We recommend that you change your filters about once a month in the summer and once every three months in the colder months. But, you should check regularly to see what works best for your home!
3. Run your fan to circulate air.
During this time of year, your system runs less often. To help keep your home comfortable and help filter the air, run the fan intermittently. This is best accomplished by having a thermostat like an ecobee installed that can run your fan a certain amount of time per hour so it’s not running continuously.
4. Control humidity.
Humidity isn’t just for stuffy noses! Ideal humidity in the home should be between 45-55%. This can be accomplished with stand alone units or a professionally installed humidifier or dehumidifier. This ensures high humidity isn’t increasing your home’s air pollution.
5. Add an air purifier or air scrubber to your home.
Both will clean up to 99% of airborne germs, but have slightly different techniques. For starters, an air purifier cleans from within, replacing the dirty air with clean air. An air scrubber has ions that attach to germs on the surfaces of your home. You can dive in further here, but we recommend the Reme Halo!
Most heating and cooling systems do not clean the air in your home on their own. It’s important that you take the necessary steps to keep you and your family safe year round, but especially now. Regularly cleaning, replacing your air filters, circulating air, and investing in an air purification system will decrease the chances of your family getting sick. Which means your kids won’t miss out on school or their favorite extracurriculars, and you can make it to happy hour after work.
Make sure to address each of these steps within the next week to ensure your home is clean. If you find your vents seem to not be functioning well, your air conditioner just won’t click on or you just want a second opinion on how to ensure your home is safe, we are just an email or phone call away.
Best of luck as you take care of your home!
