Have you ever walked into someone’s house and felt like the air was stale or just isn’t clean? That feeling you’re experiencing is bad indoor air quality, which could cause your family to get sick without you even knowing about it. Most families make three huge air quality mistakes that can severely impact their health and happiness.
Overlooking Household Smoke and Fumes
The biggest air quality mistake families make is that they completely underestimate the toxicity of day-to-day smoke and fumes within the house. It’s not only about cigarette smoke, though that’s certainly a part of it. We’re also talking about cooking fumes, candle smoke, fireplace emissions, and even that “new car smell” your furniture and carpets give off.
What most families don’t know is that secondhand smoke exposure can increase lung cancer risk by 20% to 30% in non-smoking adults. If you’re thinking that smoking inside and then cracking open a window is going to do the trick, forget about it. Even a little bit of secondhand smoke can begin to clog up your body’s cells and contribute to cancer development.
To improve this, begin by having a strict no-smoking rule indoors. When preparing food, always turn on your exhaust fan and think about opening windows to ensure cross-ventilation. If you are a candle person, switch to good-quality candles with cotton wicks and burn them in well-ventilated spaces for shorter durations. Have fireplaces cleaned professionally once a year and always fully open the damper before starting a fire.
Letting Your Home Become a Moisture Trap
Another common mistake is to ignore the ever-increasing humidity and moisture levels in your home. Many families make the mistake of thinking they have nothing to worry about unless there are any visible signs of water damage. What they don’t know is that even daily activities, like cooking, showering, and even breathing contribute to raising moisture levels in your indoor air.
It becomes problematic when humidity climbs above 50% to 60%, as it provides dust mites, mold, and bacteria a feasible environment to thrive. To manage it properly, you must begin with proper monitoring. It’s also vital to get a simple humidity meter to ensure the indoor humidity levels stay around 30% to 50%. Don’t forget to run bathroom exhaust fans for at least half an hour after showering. And you must also consider investing in a dehumidifier if you notice higher humidity levels in your house, which is usually the case when you live in a naturally humid climate.
Using the Wrong Air Filters or Not Cleaning Properly
Another mistake that can drain families of their health is using the incorrect HVAC filters or not replacing them frequently enough. If that occurs, your HVAC system can’t properly capture pollutants, dust, pollen, and other airborne particles entering your home.
A dirty or clogged filter means your family is breathing second-hand toxins five to seven times a day as your HVAC system re-circulates air throughout your home. It leads to more allergy symptoms, respiratory irritation, and severe asthma attacks.
To fix this, first determine your precise filter size by looking at your current filter or your HVAC manual. Select filters with an 8 to 13 MERV rating for most homes, which trap common pollutants without choking airflow severely. Keep in mind that homes with pets, smokers, or allergy sufferers require more frequent replacement.
Endnote
Indoor air quality has a huge impact on your family’s health, energy, and overall quality of life. The good thing is that once you know what’s causing these issues and correct them, chances are you’ll begin to notice everyone feeling better in a matter of weeks.