Improving Air Quality in an Ecofriendly Way

If you’re looking to live a greener and more sustainable lifestyle then it’s easy to incorporate your values into improving your apartment’s or home’s air quality. There are many things you can do to keep your air clean in an eco-friendly way.

Avoid Burning Things Indoors

First, you want to reduce how many toxic gases you emit into your home and the environment. Tobacco smoke has been known as a harmful pollutant that causes asthma in young children as they grew up in households with a smoker. Tobacco smoke also has hundreds of toxic chemicals including formaldehyde, arsenic, benzene, hydrogen cyanide, and the addictive drug nicotine. When people smoke indoors it can lead to other respiratory conditions such as cancer or pneumonia. Smokers will also have a higher frequency of respiratory infections.

You also want to think about not burning any incense or oils or candles in your home. Even if they are made with natural materials, any combustion in your home will cause soot, which will cause more pollutants to be in your air.

Houseplants can also help filter the air and remove toxins.

Be Careful About Indoor Cleaners

It is very important to be discerning with what type of indoor cleaners you use. Robust detergents, disinfectants, scrubs, and powders that are abrasive can cause irritation not only to your skin if you touch them, but also to your nose, eyes, and lungs if the vapors are strong. Many cleaning products emit harsh chemicals into the air that can irritate breathing passages. And some cleaners are so strong that you should wear a mask when using them. If you want to have cleaner air while cleaning your home then you want to stick with non-chemical, natural cleaning products.

Some great types of natural cleaning products include:

Baking soda
Vinegar
Plant-based soaps
Lemons

Change Your Filters Regularly

Filters work by trapping contaminants that are in your air and preventing them from circulating. As you can imagine, the tighter the weave in pleated filters or fiberglass fibers, the less likely pollutants and microscopic particles will be able to pass through. But this also means that those particles, including dust and pet dander, will eventually accumulate and even block air from passing through your filter.

Not only does this mean that you’ve reduced efficiency of your filter and prevented it from continuously keeping the air clean, but by blocking air from passing through you also make your air conditioner or furnace work harder. Your air conditioner can’t think or know that the reason is that the filter is dirty, so it will freeze or shut down if you don’t change your filter.

This is an expensive problem that is very easy to fix — just buy a new filter when it’s time. If you have allergies, then you will want to change it every 30 to 60 days. If you have pets, then you want to change it every 60 to 90 days. Air filters for apartments or for people who are not asthmatic can be changed every six months. If you have questions about when to change your filter or which one is right for your home or apartment, then be sure to reach out to a certified retailer for your unit brand. They will be able to provide you with the best guidance regarding what filters are appropriate for your unit’s blower capacity but also provide great filtration.

This article was sponsored by FilterKing; image from the GreenLivingIdeas team.

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Tags: air filters, air quality, indoor air pollution, Indoor Air Quality, natural cleaning products

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