Keeping Indoor Air Quality Healthy

Keeping the Indoor Air Quality Healthy

One of the things people rarely think about is the air quality in their homes. Air is usually something we never notice, after all. But keeping it clean is a very important task as it does have a great effect on our health, especially the indoor air quality – after all, you spend most of your life in your home. But how do you go about maintaining the air’s healthy quality?

There are many ways of doing that. One of them, of course, is preventing the bad air to penetrate your home. Avoid smoking indoors. You have seen the signs on all cigarette packages, so you should be aware that smoking is harmful. Double that when you smoke inside as the smoke seeps into all the furniture and curtains, and not only leaves a questionable air quality, but a very nasty and hard to remove odour, as well. If you are a smoker and cannot give it up, simply use the balcony or smoke when outside.

Two, you should avoid using certain types of paints, stains, coatings, and carpeting that contain volatile organic compounds such as benzene, toluene, arsenic, formaldehyde and xylene.. Similar to the smoking they leave a bad odour behind, and will off-gas  , potentially causing negative health effects such as respiratory problems, headaches and general illness, dizziness, etc. These products have been known to emit their VOCs for days, weeks and even years after use or application. Be careful about what type of paint, varnish or carpeting you bring to your home and look for low or zero VOC options which are now more commonly available. Three, have a look at your cleaning products. You will notice that most cleaning products have a very volatile effect on the air quality, as they are filled with different chemicals that evaporate right into the indoor air, and if you do not ventilate properly, you breathe in all the toxins from that product. Try avoiding all this with green cleaning products. If you are all too attached to your own cleaning products and have no intention of changing them, here are some tips on how to keep your indoor air quality healthy :

Use only the amount necessary for cleaning.
Do not mix cleaning products.
Always read the label.
Ventilate often (keep your kitchen and bathroom fans on while cleaning).
Rinse after application.
Throw away old containers.

But, ultimately, you should just use green products. There are many new eco-friendly products today on the market that specialise in air quality control. They are more costly, but health has no price. Otherwise, you can go completely green and use home-made products while home cleaning. There is a variety of everyday items in your very kitchen which you can use. Use baking soda and vinegar for just about everything – carpet cleaning, oven cleaning, kitchen cleaning, etc. They can fight any stain just as good as a labeled cleaning product, but without the negative effects. Use salt for the dishes to avoid rashes on your hands, and all the dish washing fluid’s chemicals affecting the air. Add lemon juice to the picture and it will not only remove all previous nasty odours, but it will freshen up the air with a nice smell as well.

You do not have to resort to cleaning companies to keep the air clean in your home. Simply think green and the air quality will rise when you remove all the chemicals and toxins from your home. Read more at: Oneoff Cleaning.