Spring cleaning is a time-honored tradition found in multiple different cultures. It’s a great reminder to do a deep clean and reorganization of your home. There are so many benefits to a clean home. Mental health, productivity, and safety are all great reasons to keep your space pristine. However, as HVAC specialists, we want to pay special attention to indoor air quality and the symbiotic relationship it has with the cleanliness of your home.
What Factors Into Indoor Air Quality?
Indoor air quality can be an amorphous thing for many homeowners. Still, when you’re in a space with poor indoor air quality, it’s uncomfortable. It’s stuffy and you may suffer more from allergies, but what are the main factors that make up indoor air quality.
There are two main factors that can damage indoor air quality: humidity and pollutants. Humidity is an often overlooked aspect. It’s a good idea to keep humidity consistently between 25% and 35% as much as possible. Certain activities can help you stay within this Goldilocks zone. Air drying your clothes, and cooking are two simple ways to add humidity to the air in your home. On the other side of the spectrum, increased ventilation or a dehumidifier are great ways to remove humidity from your home.
Air pollutants are another aspect that you can impact. This is where spring cleaning comes into play.
Why a Clean Home Leads to Clean Air?
When it comes to indoor air pollutants, it’s important to consider the potential entry points for new contaminants. This is something we’re all more familiar with considering current events. Many of the same precautions apply to limiting allergens and other pollutants in your home.
Let’s start with your air ducts. If you use a ducted HVAC system, all of the air in your home will pass through it. This means dirty ducts will worsen your indoor air quality, even if you do everything else correctly. This is why we advise getting your air ducts cleaned by professionals once every 3-5 years. If you smoke or emit more allergens than is typical, you may want to get your ducts cleaned more often.
Secondly, it’s important to recognize the number of allergens you bring into your home. Dust, pollen, and even pathogens like viruses or bacteria cling to clothing and to your furniture. This is why deep cleaning is helpful for indoor air quality. Carpets and rugs can soak up dust particles and other allergens and reintroduce them into your home for months. Make sure you vacuum regularly and get rid of those excess stores of dust regularly.
Our last tip revolves around your air filtration system. Even dirty ducts and a dusty home can be helped by great air filtration. Your HVAC system comes with some air filters that need to be switched out or cleaned every month if possible. Beyond that and they begin to lose effectiveness. Additionally, you may consider adding more air filtration systems to your home via stand-alone units. Consider this if you have family members that are particularly prone to allergies.
Spring Cleaning Tips
Since the spring season is coming up, we’ll offer a few basic spring cleaning tips.
- Dust as much as you can! Ceiling fans, bookcases, and difficult-to-reach corners are all great areas to clear away dust buildup.
- Clean your blinds and drapes. Many don’t consider the dirt and grime that can build upon their blinds over time. Cleaning them with a wet rag is a great idea.
- Organize your home electronics. Organization makes cleaning simpler. If you haven’t messed with your electronic set up in awhile, spring cleaning is a good excuse to clear off any dust and clean the area.
Good luck with spring cleaning this year and we wish you success in keeping great indoor air quality in your home!
If you need an Indoor Air Quality Assessment, fill out an online contact form or call us at (616) 319-2121. We take the health of our technicians and customers seriously. We’ve taken steps to keep you safe while we work on your home.
