Air quality can be improved indoors by minimizing sources of air pollutants and improving ventilation. Here are tips for improving air quality indoors:
- Keep your doors and windows open for at least 4 hours a day
- Regularly check for that your air conditioning, ventilation, heating, and humidification systems are working properly
- Regularly check gas stoves and make sure the kitchen is well-ventilated
- Keep exhaust fans operational in your bathrooms and kitchen
- Test your home regularly for radon
- Avoid smoking indoors
- Remove carpeting if possible
- Leave your shoes at the door
- Dust and vacuum frequently
- Limit the use of air fresheners
- Wash your bedding one time a week, preferably in hot water
- Have car emissions tested regularly
- Keep trash covered to keep away pests
- Use carbon monoxide detectors
- Cover scented candles with a lid
- Minimize unnecessary clutter in your home
- Avoid over-watering indoor house plants
- Use air purifiers that contain high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters
What causes indoor air pollution?
Being aware of sources of air pollution can help you find ways to remove or reduce them. Sources of indoor air pollution include:
- Cooking methods such as frying
- Burning materials such as oil, gas, kerosene, coal, and wood
- Unvented or malfunctioning stoves
- Furnaces or space heaters
- Cleaning solvents
- Paint strippers
- Tobacco smoking
- Deteriorating building materials and furnishings
- Asbestos-containing insulation
- Damp carpets
- Furniture made of certain pressed wood products
- Central heating and cooling systems
- Home humidification devices
- Outdoor sources such as radon and pesticides
Inadequate ventilation further contributes to air pollution. When your home is not properly ventilated, these indoor air pollutants stay suspended in the air. High temperature and humidity levels can also elevate the concentrations of air pollutants.
How effective are air purifiers?
While there are many different kinds of air purifiers available in the market, selecting one that is effective depends on the following factors:
- Percentage efficiency rate (effectiveness of drawing pollutants from indoor air)
- Volume of air (cubic feet per minute) drawn through the filtering equipment
Experts seem to be divided regarding the effectiveness of air purifiers and whether they are worth the price and cost of maintenance.
To some extent, air purifiers equipped with air filters can decrease the number of allergens in your home, remove indoor mold particles, and minimize the humidity and smoke that gets emitted from tobacco smoke and furnaces. This is particularly helpful if you live in an area with high pollution rates. However, it is much better to avoid smoking than using an air purifier to mitigate the effects of secondhand smoke in your home.
Currently, there is no official recommendation from the US Environmental Protection Agency on the use of air cleaners to minimize the levels of radon in the home. The problem is that an air purifier does not do much to decrease the amount of radon entering the home and is only partially effective at removing radon decay products.
QUESTION
What are bed bugs? See AnswerU.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Improving Indoor Air Quality. https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/improving-indoor-air-quality
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