Air pollution is one of the most serious problems facing humanity now, and unfortunately, it’s one not taken seriously by many. A byproduct of the advancement we’ve witnessed over the years is bigger damage to the environment. As a result, the air we’re breathing is more polluted now than it has ever been. Breathing such air can have serious consequences on human health. While you cannot control what you breathe outdoors, you have some control over the conditions in your home. Here’s how you can have clean air in your home.
Get More Houseplants
While they are great for décor purposes, houseplants have a far more important benefit. They can help improve the air quality inside your home and currently renew it. Many houseplants also can filter several of the volatile organic compounds that linger in the air indoors. Take spider plants, for example; they’ve been shown to reduce benzene, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde in the air. This is why you need to get more houseplants and look after them; they will definitely improve the air you and your family consume.
Install Trickle Vents
Another thing you could do to improve the quality of the air in your room is to improve the ventilation by adding trickle vents around your windows. This is much better than just opening the windows and letting the air come inside, regardless of its quality. Trickle vents reduce moisture levels and they cycle the air that you breathe inside your home. You should also work on improving the ventilation inside your kitchen because cooking can result in significant air pollution indoors, more so if you use a gas stove.
Air Filters/Purifiers
One of the best approaches to enjoy clean air in your home is to use air filters and/or purifiers, which can clear pollutants indoors, filter out dust, bacteria, and allergens, and also get rid of mold. While purifiers and filters serve the same end result, they work differently in how they filter, and what they’re able to keep out of the air. It’s understood that purifiers are different filters because unlike air filters, they utilize an electric charge to attract pollutants, and then they use UV light to zap them away. The only issue is if the allergen is not airborne, the air purifier will not be able to filter it out. You generally get an air filter as a separate device.
Air filters, on the other hand, are just a barrier that traps pollutants and allergens and are used on your HVAC systems. You have to ensure that you clean these filters manually though, otherwise the pollutants that the filter collects will ultimately enter the air in your area again, as it collects and blocks the flow.
Both options are great and can help keep the air in your home clean, which is the end goal. Constant contact with allergens and bacteria can lead to health problems like allergies, colds, and respiratory problems.
Use Beeswax Candles
Beeswax candles are one of the best natural approaches to clean the air in your room, and it’s quite scientific actually. Pollutants and allergens float in the air because they are positively charged ions, and to neutralize those, you need negatively charged ions. Nature provides those negative ions around waterfalls and in forests, which is why the air is much cleaner there. Since you can’t live in a forest, you can bring its effect to your house through beeswax candles. Those candles can create a similar effect to nature’s, neutralizing the positive ions in the air and cleaning the air in your home.
Groom Your Pets
While you need to clean and groom your pets regularly for their own sake, it’s also for yours. Your pets’ skin cells often float in the air, and those can lead to respiratory problems. This is why you need to regularly groom them since those skin cells can pollute the air and exacerbate conditions like asthma.
Clean
The simplest and most direct way to keep the air in your house purified is to clean regularly. Dust and mite multiply in unhygienic environments, and you can’t let that happen since they would affect the air you breathe. Moreover, not cleaning your place is also an invitation for mold, which can trigger allergies and other health complications. Pro tip: use nontoxic chemicals to clean your house. Many of the cleaning products you buy from the store contain chemicals that can linger on in the air and cause lungs, eyes, and throat irritation. You could make your own household cleaning supplies using materials like vinegar, essential oils, and baking soda, which is a much better option for you as well as the environment.
It might require some adjustment and lifestyle changes, but keeping the air inside your home clean is definitely worth it. Make sure the house is always cleaned, and use purifiers or filters. You could also try natural approaches to purify the air like beeswax candles, activated charcoal, and salt lamps, which have all been shown to clean the air in closed spaces. One last tip, always take off your shoes inside the house since shoes carry more pollutants than you can imagine.