Is your home clean and well-maintained but it still feels dirty and oppressive? Do you or a loved one suffer from asthmatic attacks in your home? Do you have a simple cough you just can’t shake? You’re probably dealing with bad air quality.
Air quality not only makes a home feel comfortable and welcoming, it largely defines occupants’ baseline health. Bad air quality in a home not only leads to irritation, but it can also suppress your immune system and cause your body to struggle unnecessarily with germs and viruses. Many times, people fail to think about air quality when trying to figure out why they feel under the weather all the time. Instead, they’ll go to the doctor and end up with band-aid solutions that don’t address the underlying issue.
CONTAMINATED AIR CULPRITS
The air quality in your home depends on many different factors, and we want to explore the most impactful ones to give you a few starting points when it comes to solving your air quality issues.
ARTIFICIAL AIR FRESHENERS
If you love candles and incense, you aren’t alone. These products can add a lot to the ambiance and of your home, especially if there are other smells you want to cover up. The problem is, candles and incense put adulterants in the air and make bad air quality worse. They not only emit nasty, artificial scents, but they also put irritating smoke and carbon particulates in the air. There are plenty of alternatives to smoke and incense, including orange peels and carefully-used essential oils.
LACK OF AN AIR PURIFIER
You don’t want to just keep new particles out of your home’s air, you want to remove the current particles. While your HVAC system has filters, they won’t get everything. An air purifier can make a huge difference by pulling many particles out of the air and lightening the burden on your HVAC filters. Purifiers also snatch particles out of the air before they can settle into your carpet.
YOUR VACUUM
Your vacuum pulls particles out of the carpet, hopefully without blowing them up into the air. Unfortunately, many vacuums stir up as many particles as they capture, which can greatly decrease the impact of your cleaning. While most vacuums come with basic HEPA-rated air filters, it’s worth investing in a high-quality vacuum that will leave your homes cleaner. Lastly, no matter what kind of vacuum you have, make sure it doesn’t over-fill and keep it clean so that it can do its job.
MOISTURE ISSUES AND MOLD
Mold always means trouble. When it gets airborne, it not only causes respiratory irritation, it can actually be dangerously toxic. Keep mold out of your bathroom by running the fan for half an hour after showers and baths. Wash your shower curtains and check under all your sinks to make sure you don’t have mold building up. You should also get your air ducts cleaned regularly to make sure mold isn’t building up within them.
ARTIFICIAL CLEANING MATERIALS
There’s a pretty big movement toward natural cleaning supplies, and for good reason. Artificial cleaning agents often use extremely harsh chemicals to get the job done, and the fumes can deeply affect the respiratory systems of anyone in the vicinity. Children are especially vulnerable to irritation. Keep everything clean with natural cleaning agents like tea tree oil, vinegar, or other products that will do the job without burning your lungs.
RUN-DOWN HOME APPLIANCES
A lot of your appliances circulate at least a little air while they run. This list includes clothes dryers, stove hoods, home air purifiers, dehumidifiers, and vacuum cleaners. All of these appliances have air filters that get dirty over time and will stop doing their jobs if they aren’t maintained. Simply cleaning your filters can make a huge difference for your respiratory system.
YOUR CENTRAL AIR UNIT’S FILTER
It can be easy to procrastinate on maintenance for your furnace or central air system when you don’t see major problems. Unfortunately, this is how issues get so advanced that expensive, inconvenient interventions are the only options. Get your system tuned up regularly to ensure it’s working at its best and keeping you both comfortable and healthy all year long.
YOUR AIR DUCTS
Air ducts carry warmed or cooled air throughout your entire home, and if they’re dusty, moldy, or acting as mouse apartments, they’ll spread the nastiness all over. In order to avoid serious health issues, get your ducts cleaned regularly. The DUCTZ team is ready and waiting to give your air system the sanitization it needs. We’re thorough, careful, and dedicated to excellence.
TURN TO DUCTZ TODAY
Our extensive air quality testing team serves a wide swath of Florida, including Palm Beach, Dade, Broward, Weston, and beyond. Don’t settle for hoping your air quality is okay. Instead, give us a call, get a quote, and let us help you breathe easy!