A big chunk of our time is spent indoors throughout the week. We have mostly restricted ourselves within the four walls, be it a classroom, hotel room, office room, etc. In such a setting, it becomes important that you maintain indoor air quality and your surroundings neat and clean to breathe that fresh air.
You should check your indoor areas thoroughly to find out whether aren’t you breathing unpolluted air. Breathing in bad quality air can have severe impacts on our health and wellbeing.
Therefore, to continue with a positive and healthful life, we must maximize air quality entering our homes, institutes, or workplaces.
What degrades the quality of indoor air?
Room Fresheners
The product you are using to scent your indoor air quality may have an adverse outcome. Most air fresheners contain phthalates, formaldehyde, and many such toxic chemicals add up to the destruction of the air quality.
Pest Control System
We are under continuous usage of pesticides to prevent our indoors from getting affected by pests and insects. But, this exposure into the indoor air may be deadly and cause damage to your eyes, ears, and nerves, keeping a possibility open of increased chance of cancer.
Wall Paints
The paints which improve the look of your indoor area can be the cause of your pain. It comprises volatile organic compounds or VOCs that are directly related to cancer as these chemicals incorporate methylene chloride and benzene.
Fresh paints contain most of it. However, once it has dried up, the VOCs don’t completely vanish but remain indoors, polluting the air.
Traditional Gas Stoves
Traditional cooking stoves emit some hazardous gas into the air, namely, Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen dioxide, and also a bit of formaldehyde.
Though this emission is not excessive and immediately harmful, all these get mixed up in the air, making it harmful in the long run.
How to improve Indoor Air quality
Have A Regular Cleaning Session:
One thing is for sure: a clean house is always a healthy house. If we don’t allow any dirt to accumulate itself in the corners of the house, then the indoors will let us breathe in the fresh air.
Clean the floor mats in regular intervals, wash curtains and maintain a hygienic atmosphere in your area. If you have pets at home, it is essential to give them a good bath every day not to let any filth settle on their fur.
Your cleaning strategies should have a routine so that you can take care of every part of your indoors in a more systematic and detailed manner.
Bring In A Good Quality Air Purifier
You or your family members may be allergic because of the indoor allergens but fail to find out the same source. At this point, a good-quality HEPA air purifier will come to your rescue. It can easily trap these irritants, which cause you allergies. Place it in that corner of the house where you feel the most need of it.
Well, complete removal of this dirt may not be possible even after the installation of it, but you can realize the decreased amount of allergens in your area, which will, in turn, let you breathe in the fresh air.
Additionally, install a dehumidifier in the damp areas of the indoors to prevent the strengthening of the mold. Have a good ventilation system established in your bathrooms or similar areas, which are the main source of this mold formation. Also, clear up all the visible mold in the taps or showers.
Keep The Window Shutters Wide Open
Bringing in the outdoor air inwards is very effective to keep the continued rotation of the indoor air. Stagnant air, which is filled indoors, becomes the powerhouse of germs and dirt if they aren’t allowed to move out through the window panes.
It often forms a foul smell in a closed interior if there is no good ventilation process available. That is the reason we feel uncomfortable if we stay inside a compact room for hours.
Also, discard the cooking fumes from your kitchen through exhaust fans and don’t authorize the contaminated air to fill in the house.
Quit Smoking Indoors:
It is always expected of everyone to quit smoking permanently, but often at times, people become so addicted that they continue to smoke even indoors. It is the most common cause of indoor air pollution.
The ones who are along with you under the same roof may not be actively smoking, but as you are exhaling the polluted air, there remains a chance of them getting affected due to passive smoking.
Thus, if you are smoking inside a room, you are not only harming your health but also responsibly causing difficulties for others.
Keep The Plant Pots Outside
Although there are many different types of plants available in the market which can be placed inside, they may harm you. Yes, green leaves may provide you with oxygen, but additionally, they can even reap and promote the growth of mold.
Therefore, if indoor plants are polluting your indoor air, then it is best to set them aside, preferably outdoors. It may activate the allergic situation inside the room and make it hard for you to breathe the fresh air.
So, add outdoor plants in your area and strengthen the greenness of nature.
Alter The Filters
If you possess a forced air conditioning system at your house or office, be cautious about changing the filters punctually. Electrostatic filters enable the dirt in the air to get collected within it and prevent the rotation of this airborne dirt in your indoor area.
Make sure you have planned to tidy up the air ducts to get rid of the accumulated dust. The filters will surely save you from the unwanted dust in the air, but it is your responsibility to alter the filters to ensure more secured and fresh air to breathe in.
Clean The Floor Mats
The floors get an upgraded look if covered with beautiful mats and coverings. But, if they aren’t properly taken care of, they can be a storehouse of many pollutants, pet dander, and dirt. This dirt gets added to the air with a single kick on the floor mats.
To reduce dirt accumulation on such coverings, prevent using outdoor shoes inside the house or clean the shoes thoroughly before entering your workplace to permit yourself the freedom to inhale good quality air.
Conclusion
Air pollutants that are responsible for the degradation of the air quality might not be seen through naked eyes, but they can cause you much harm if not given importance at the correct time.
Outdoors, we can save ourselves by wearing masks, but it is not practically possible when we stay inside. Fresh air is a valuable gift from the Almighty; why would we lower its significance by the assemblage of different allergens?
If we responsibly take due care of our indoors, we will remain hail and hearty. Thus, we realize the importance of quality air indoors. So, authorize yourself to breathe in the fresh air by following the above-mentioned points.
