Dealing With Poor Indoor Air Quality? 5 Simple Ways You Can Improve It

If you or anyone in your household is suffering from unexplained respiratory symptoms or indoor allergies, there’s a good chance your living in a space with poor indoor air quality. But you’re not doomed to deal with irritating symptoms forever. There are several simple things you can do to improve your indoor air quality in a relatively short period of time, and our Dust Doctors team has those details below.

Schedule Duct Cleaning

Have you ever had your ductwork professionally cleaned? If you have, when was the last time you had it done? If it’s been years or you’ve never had your ducts cleaned out, scheduling professional duct cleaning can make a massive difference in your indoor air quality.

Deep duct cleaning is designed for seriously neglected ducts and is the most intensive cleaning routine out there. Maintenance duct cleaning is for ductwork that’s had professional attention in the past but needs a regular touchup. A pro can assess the current state of your ductwork and recommend the most appropriate course of action for improving your indoor air quality. 

Implement an Air Purification System

Investing in either a portable or whole-house air purification system can work wonders for improving the indoor air quality in your home. These systems contain HEPA filters, which are designed to trap 99.7% of particles sized 0.3 microns or larger.

That means an air purification system can effectively filter out viruses, microbes, dust mites, pollen, dander, and other allergy-triggering particles from your indoor air. Some systems even feature UV filtration that further sanitizes your indoor air as it passes through the device.

Change Your HVAC Filters Regularly

If your home has a forced-air cooling or heating system, you should be changing your HVAC filters regularly. To improve your indoor air quality, at the very least, change the filters according to the package directions. If any of the following apply to your household, you should change the filters more often:

●        You have pets

●        You smoke indoors

●        Your burn paraffin candles indoors

●        You use chemical-based cleaning products

●        You have several people in your household

Get Rid of the Greenery

This doesn’t hold true for every plant or every household, but in some cases, indoor vegetation exacerbates allergy symptoms by leading to mold growth. Although certain plants are touted as indoor air quality improvers since they release oxygen and remove certain contaminants from the air, they can also be allergy triggers.

If you or anyone in your house suffers from unrelenting respiratory symptoms, try removing indoor plants if you have them and see what happens.

Ventilate Your Home

From time to time, open your windows to let some fresh air in. You don’t want to keep them open all the time as doing so can allow an excessive amount of outdoor particulate matter inside your home. But when it’s calm outside (not windy), leave your windows open for an hour or so. Introducing fresh air to your living spaces will help improve your indoor air quality and placing fans near your windows can help push contaminated air outdoors.

Be Diligent About Cleaning

Good indoor hygiene can go a long way toward improving your indoor air quality. Regular cleaning helps mitigate dust, pollen, and dander accumulation that can trigger the allergy-like symptoms your household may be suffering from. Here’s what you need to focus on:

●        Cleaning all textiles on a regular basis. This includes your bedding, pillows, curtains, upholstered furniture, carpet, rugs, and anything else that has a fabric covering.

●        Vacuuming. If you’re already vacuuming regularly and still suffering from odd symptoms, consider investing in a vacuum that features a HEPA filter. These filters trap far more microscopic particles than standard filters, so they can go a long way toward reducing particulate matter inside your house and improving your indoor air quality. If you have carpet, it may be time to consider replacing it with hardwood, laminate, or tile flooring.

●        Getting rid of clutter. Unnecessary clutter can trap and hold dust and other particulate matter you really don’t want inside your home. If you have lots of items lying around that you really never use or even look at, consider getting rid of them to cut down on dust accumulation inside your home.

Schedule Duct Cleaning for Your Twin Cities Home Today

If you’re worried your indoor air quality isn’t what it should be, let our team at Dust Doctors help you out! We specialize in duct cleaning, indoor air quality improvement services, air purification systems, and more and have proudly served residents throughout Little Canada, MN and the surrounding areas for nearly a decade. To learn more or schedule an appointment, feel free to give us a call today at 651-319-9777 or request a free quote online. We look forward to hearing from you!