Home Air Quality: Why and How to Keep Your Indoor Air Clean During COVID-19

The current pandemic has led many people to question the quality of their self-quarantine.

Many people fear that the indoor air they’re breathing in isn’t safe. They fear that it’s harmful to their families to be locked indoors for that long.

That fear is justified. There are many different things indoors that could complicate a person’s breathing such as mold, radon, or carbon dioxide.

In order to make sure the family is protected, homeowners need to take an extra step during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve their air supply. Here is how people can keep their home air quality clean.

1. Get Outdoor Air, Inside: Just because everyone is supposed to be self-quarantining doesn’t mean they should be removing all traces of the outside air from their home.
   In fact, there are several benefits that humans receive from having access to a higher supply of fresh outdoor air.
   This can be as simple as opening the windows in the house for a few hours or taking a brief walk outside while practicing social distancing. If a homeowner has a backyard, they should definitely be taking advantage of it.
   The fresh air intake system will do its part to add fresh air to the house’s HVAC system, but opening the windows for a bit will give it some much-needed assistance.
   Even those with coronavirus symptoms should get their fair share of outdoor air via an open window to help with their breathing.
2. Remove The Carpet: Many people aspire to install a hardwood floor into their home and rid themselves of that dreaded carpet…now is the time to act on that desire!
   While it may not occur to many people, carpet becomes a hazard to a human’s breathing over time. It traps all the dirt and dust that comes into the house, with nowhere to escape.
   Even if a person were to vacuum their carpet often, some of the dirt is too far into the fibers of the carpet to reach.
   The compounding (and hidden) dirt in your carpet can lead to serious breathing problems for those with heavy allergies.
   People can eradicate this issue by installing the tile, hardwood, or vinyl flooring they’ve had their eyes on for a while.
   For some, getting the floors remodeled isn’t in the budget during this time. If not, then a healthy alternative is having the carpets professionally cleaned.
3. Have The HVAC Unit Serviced: The HVAC system in a household should be serviced no less than twice a year by a professional HVAC expert.
   Those that aren’t serviced on a biannual basis can lead to less lubrication in the gears of the system, which will quicken the system’s wear and tear.
   There are also risks of dust and other objects interfering with the HVAC system’s fresh air intake system. Those out there that don’t replace their filters often enough know this problem all too well.
   These days, a new HVAC installation can cost a homeowner up to $10,000. The more that a system is serviced each year, the longer it will last and the less likely it will need a replacement.
   HVAC experts don’t want you to spend thousands of dollars on installation if you don’t need to. They’ll try their best to extend the life of the system until it can function properly anymore.
   However, if that HVAC expert isn’t scheduled for a checkup often enough, there’s not a lot they can do to save the system.
   All homeowners need to do is build a business relationship with a trusted HVAC service and they won’t have to worry about their home’s air quality during the quarantine.
4. Replace The Air Filter More Frequently: Homeowners essentially have one responsibility that falls on their shoulders for maintaining their HVAC system, and they do it forgettably. That responsibility is to change out the air filter once a month.
   If not replaced on a consistent basis, the dirt and debris on the filter can cause the system to work extra hard to operate. That will inevitably lead to the system either overheating or shutting off as a defense mechanism.
   No matter how often someone currently replaces their air filters, they should be doubling that effort these days.
   Doubling down on the air filters will ensure the air supply that the HVAC system is pumping through the house is as fresh as possible.
5. Clean High-Traffic Areas More Often: High-traffic areas, as the name would imply, are the areas of a house that garner the most usage.
   Generally speaking, this would be rooms such as the living room, hallways, and kitchens, to name a few. Because of the higher foot traffic, they’re also the place with the most dirt and debris in them.
   Because of that, they need to be cleaned twice as often as any other room. The weekly house cleaning isn’t enough. People need to make sure and wipe down all surfaces, vacuum the floors, and spray the high-traffic areas thoroughly 2 to 3 times a week.
   Homeowners should take the time to consider what places in their homes have the most traffic in order to improve air quality.