Think your indoor air quality is making you sick? You might be right. Most of our lives are spent primarily indoors, whether at work, at home or in school. Some of the pollutants you may be exposed to indoors on a daily basis include chemicals, gases, mold and pests. As a result, you and your loved ones may be suffering from sore eyes, burning of the nose and throat, headaches or fatigue. Some pollutants can worsen existing medical conditions such as allergies, asthma and other respiratory illnesses, cancer, heart disease and more.
On a More Positive Note
The good news is, you can easily take some steps to immediately improve the air quality in your home. Why not pick a few of the following tips and implement them today!
Keep Walkways and Entries Clean
Regularly sweep, dust and vacuum indoor and outdoor areas around your entries to reduce the amount of debris tracked into your home.
Place Door Mats at Each Entrance
Having both indoor and outdoor mats placed by your doorways will help to reduce the quantity of outdoor pollutants being tracked into your home. While your wall to wall carpet will act as a primary filter for these particulates, once that natural filter becomes full, the particles will become airborne and may begin to cause a variety of health issues. Door mats will allow your carpet to act as a more efficient filter over a longer period of time.
Go Shoeless
Removing your shoes at the door goes a long way to reducing the contaminants entering your home. Just think about all of the things your shoes came into contact with over the course of your day, and then you will think twice about tracking that into your home each evening.
Buy a Good Vacuum
We may be past the day of the door to door vacuum salesman, but that doesn’t negate the need for a good vacuum. Purchase a quality upright vacuum with brush agitation and then use it at least 1-2 times per week depending upon the size of your household. For tips on a good quality vacuum that will last, you can research consumer guides, trade magazines or call our office and we can let you know a few of our favorites!
Change Your Air Filter
Invest in good quality air filters for your HVAC unit. If you choose to invest in a reusable filter, be sure to schedule monthly reminders to remove and flush your filter of collected soils.
Clean Your Carpet
As mentioned earlier, your carpet acts as an amazing filter for the many particulates coming in from the outdoors. However, as with all filters, your carpet needs regular maintenance to help it effectively do its’ job. Professional hot water extraction, provided by the experts at Preferred Carpet Care of Redding, will help lift, suspend and flush contaminants from your carpet. This will help to extend the life of your carpet and protect the health of your family.
Clean All Fabric Surfaces
Regularly maintain your upholstery, window coverings, bedding and all other fabric surfaces. Bed linens should be washed on a weekly basis to remove collected allergens.
Keep Moisture Under Control
Dust mites and mold flourish under humid conditions. Aim to keep indoor humidity between 30-50%. You can find a moisture gauge at most local hardware stores. If you find your humidity level is too high, you can open your doors and windows or turn on your air conditioner. If your humidity is too low, use a vaporizer or humidifier to achieve optimum levels.
For more helpful tips to improve indoor air quality contact the team of professionals at Preferred Carpet Care today. We are happy to provide personalized tips for your household or to schedule professional carpet or upholstery cleaning. We are here to help protect the health of you and your loved ones!