Home Air Quality

With everyone working from home and not physically going to school, we are spending more time than ever in our homes.

Personally, I like the extra time at home.  I’m spending more time with my little one than I would otherwise be able to and it is saving us tons on commuting costs and eating out.  

We just got word from my husband’s work they are moving to a distributed workforce permanently.  It’s great, but we have been operating under the assumption this was a temporary thing and now need to rethink all of our systems.

One of the things we are having to rethink is air quality.

It is easy to tell when the air quality is bad.  The room feels stuffy and oppressive.  Thoughts wander and focus is scattered.  Good air quality is one of those invisible, really important things.

What causes bad air quality?

Living in our little enclosed bubble causes bad air quality all on its own.  We breathe in oxygen and breathe out CO2.  Our furniture and flooring off-gas and increase toxic chemicals in the air, so does cooking and cleaning.

Just about everything we do contributes to poor air quality in the enclosed, mostly airtight spaces of our homes.

Remove sources of bad air quality

The number one thing we can do to improve air quality is to get rid of sources of contamination.  

Some easy switches to make include:

• clean with vinegar or soap instead of harsh chemicals
• let new furniture air out outside
• open the windows or using the exhaust fan while cooking
• choose natural materials for flooring, window treatments, etc as much as possible
• don’t use aerosols inside
• store harsh chemicals in air-tight containers
• ditch perfumes and fragrances
• declutter
• get rid of extraneous scented items like scented/ scent boosted detergents, fabric softeners and plug-in scent distributors
• reduce candle burning and live fires in the fireplace
• buy vintage instead of new

Some more advanced switches include:

• trade gas stoves for electric or induction
• eliminate vinyl flooring and other vinyl products (these have a serious off-gassing problem that detrimentally affects children)
• eliminate anything that has a strong smell

Some of these switches go against certain lifestyles.  We are avid cooks, and my husband would be livid if I traded our gas range for an induction one.  I know people who absolutely adore fragrances and incense.  That’s fine too.  

These are major offenders contributing to poor air quality.  Their reduction or elimination will help significantly, but even eliminating everything will not result in pristine air.  Humans breathe out toxic gasses so other techniques are still needed to keep your home’s air awesome.  

You do you, and use the rest of the techniques as needed to compensate.

Switch out the air

Even when we take all the pollutants into account, the outside air is usually cleaner than the inside air.

I really advocate switching out the air twice a day for at least 5 minutes each or having the windows open for an extended period of time.

Outside air has more oxygen and fewer pollutants like formaldehyde.  When feeling tired or unfocused, try opening the windows.  If that helps, the air was a little too stuffy.

Opening the windows is the fastest way to improve the air quality in your home.  

If the windows can’t be opened, turn on the whole house fan for a few hours.  The fan pulls air in from outside and passes it through the HEPA filters to change out the air.  Sure the air conditioner and heater both pull air from outside when they are on, but it isn’t enough to fully switch the air out when we are spending all our time at home.

Buy quality filters and change them often

My husband is allergic to everything.  Seasonal allergies often leave him bedridden.  He hates it when I open the windows and struggles when I have the windows open all day long.

I still open the windows because it is good for the air quality and my mental health, but I still need to account for the allergens in the air.  So when I open the windows, I turn on the whole house fan.  

The house circulates the air through our HEPA filters, pulling the allergens out of the air and making it safer for the allergy sufferers in my family.  We recently upgraded to reusable HEPA filters and they are wonderful, but disposable ones are great too.

Even if your family doesn’t struggle with allergies like mine, it is important to maintain the HEPA filters.  The filters pull allergens, dust, and toxins from the air to keep the air clean.  

Get the highest grade HEPA filters available and change or wash them every 3 months.

Add plants

NASA did a study on the best indoor plants for air purification.  Many have taken this to mean indoor plants will filter the air adequately on their own.  Sorry to say, this isn’t the case.

It would take more plants than can fit in a house to actually purify the indoor air without aid.  While it is impossible to fully filter indoor air, gardens are indispensable in creating clean air around the home.

Outdoor plants are used to filter the air in cities.  If the outside air is polluted or smoggy, maintaining a good, diverse yard or garden can help.  Build an herb wall, cultivate a wild yard, start a victory garden.  

The more plants to trap carbon and other pollutants, the better the air will be.  If a lot of people in the area take this same approach, entire cities and neighborhoods can clean the air with plants.

Inside should still have plants.  Many have other properties that help keep us healthy and happy.  There are studies that say people who work without greenery surrounding them are more prone to burnout, and others tout the medical properties of plants.  Did you know eucalyptus grown in bathrooms can decrease the risk of the common cold and pneumonia?

Grow some plants.  Put them in places you frequent.  Enjoy the ambiance.

Go outside

Going outside is good for you.  The air is fresh and you can soak in some sunshine.  

With the quarantine, there have definitely been weeks where I didn’t go outside at all.  That isn’t healthy.  Spending time in nature is almost as important as spending time with others.  

Go for a walk.  Wave to your neighbors.  Enjoy the fresh air and sunshine.  

Wrapping it all up

There are people responsible for maintaining the air quality in office buildings, but we don’t have the benefit of their experience in our homes.  It is important to maintain good air hygiene in the spaces we spend most of our time to help keep us healthy.  

So throw open those windows, turn on the whole house fan, put a plant on your desk, and enjoy the benefits of clean air.  You and your family will all breathe better.