5 Tips for A Healthier Home
Posted in Air Quality, on April 08, 2021
This past year we’ve spent more time at home than ever before, making our living environments’ health and safety paramount. Home air quality testing is a service that is growing in popularity as spare bedrooms and basements transition into home offices and workspaces. Whether it’s radon testing, mold testing, or general improvements that you’re looking to make, SafeAir has several tips to help you make your home a healthier place for work and play.
Ventilate
One of the best ways to improve your indoor air quality is to increase your ventilation. Fresh air can help whisk away concentrated pollutants and provides fresh oxygen for growing minds and lungs. While opening the windows is the simplest way to increase home ventilation, installing fans in kitchens and bathrooms can also help move moisture-laden or stale air along.
Clean, Clean, Clean!
We all know that cleaning textiles, furniture, and flooring keeps your house tidy — but it also offers improvements to indoor air quality. Regular cleaning reduces allergens and potential pest infestations and helps you keep your eyes peeled for problems like leaks, mold, or damage.
Change Your Filters
Your HVAC system (your furnace and air conditioner) should come with space to install an air filter. Using a filter and changing it every 3-4 months can significantly improve your indoor air quality by trapping dust, dander, and pollutants and keeping them out of your furnace and environment.
Reduce Harmful VOCs
An easy switch you can make today is to use unscented or VOC cleaning or maintenance products. Home air quality testing in the GTA almost always picks up high levels of chemical compounds and gasses that affect the respiratory system.
Lower Your Humidity
Balancing your home’s humidity at 50% leads to a comfortable environment and a safer one too. Homes with elevated humidity are at risk for severe mold infestations and are uncomfortable and stuffy.
Healthy Home Best Practices
What is the best way to keep a healthy home? While there are many products and renovations you can do to improve your indoor air quality, the solution doesn’t have to be complex or expensive. When it comes to cleaning and keeping your home, at SafeAir, we recommend:
- keeping on top of your home maintenance, both inside and out
- regularly cleaning with VOC-free products (no smells!)
- getting rid of home fragrance plug-ins or potpourri — they often contain dangerous chemicals like formaldehyde
- instaling a HEPA filter
- smoking outdoors, away from windows and doors
- having home radon testing performed
- installing carbon dioxide and smoke alarms
Hidden Dangers
Our home should be a safe place, but many homes in the GTA have hidden dangers and health hazards. Many have no physical signs and may not be seen or smelled. Some of the common issues we find during home air quality testing are:
- lead-based paints
- ceiling or floor tiles with asbestos
- mold growth
- radon gas
- pesticides
- insect infestation
Tips For Every Room
When it comes to keeping your indoor air quality at a high level, there are many easy changes that you can make today.
In the kitchen, install an exhaust fan above the stove to reduce indoor humidity and remove heavy cooking odours. Keep the area under the sink clean and tidy — it’ll help you spot any new leaks or drips and help prevent mold growth.
Bathrooms, like kitchens, also need an exhaust fan, especially if you’re a fan of long hot showers. All that steam can move around the home and promote or exacerbate mold growth, and a fan will help dry things out. Regularly inspect taps, pipes and water connections to keep an eye out for leaks, and don’t leave your wet towels on the floor!
The basement is often affected by air quality issues like mold growth or radon gas. To stop mold growth, keep your basement well-ventilated and dry — if you have flooding problems or dampness, keep things off the floor or get a dehumidifier to help. Radon testing is a simple and non-invasive way to ensure your basement is free of this cancer-causing radioactive gas.
Healthy Air with SafeAir
Improvements to your home’s indoor air quality can help you sleep better, work more efficiently, and help you stay healthier. But there are often no signs that your indoor air quality needs help, and it can be difficult to tell the difference between, for example, seasonal allergies and mold infestations. Home air quality testing can help answer these questions and help you make healthy choices for your home and family. To learn more about the hidden issues that your home might face, we’re happy to chat with you online or by phone at 416-414-5690.