Three Things You Are Doing That Ruin Your Indoor Air Quality

It may surprise you to learn that the air you’re breathing indoors is actually quite a bit worse than the air outside your home. After all, we take pride in having a clean home, and it’s hard to clean something you can’t see or detect. However, surveys have found that the average indoor air is several times worse than the air outside, and that even applies to heavily urban areas like the middle of large cities. Why? Believe it or not, the answer may very well be you. Our behaviors and lifestyles have a pretty significant influence on our indoor air quality so something you might be doing is actually the reason you might be struggling with allergy symptoms, asthma, or other air quality issues.

Here are three examples of things you could be doing that may be a significant contributor to your indoor air quality issues.

Smoking Indoors

This may be the least surprising entry on this list, but few people realize just how bad for their indoor atmosphere smoking can be. Smoke particles spread throughout a home in a hurry, and they tend to linger and stick to textiles around your home. In fact, odors have been found in drywall, fabric curtains, upholstery, flooring, and even in the wood that makes up your home’s structure. While a thorough cleaning may mask these odors for a short time, it’s only a matter of time before they return. Likewise, cigarettes create a ton of ash particles, and these particles can easily float through the air all around your home. Those that get sucked into your HVAC system can fill up your air filter remarkably quickly, where they contribute to the spread of odors. Both of these problems can manifest themselves remarkably quickly.

If you or a guest smokes, we highly recommend asking everyone to take this activity outside. Cleaning smoke out of a home is extremely difficult and can be expensive if significant cleaning is needed. We recommend this for all types of smoking, not just tobacco products like cigarettes and cigars. This problem has been known to occur for e-cigarettes, vape pens, and more as well.

Cleaning or Dusting Too Much or Too Little

It may be a lot of work to vacuum your entire house, but doing so regularly can solve a lot of issues that can be connected to indoor air quality. Collecting dust, cleaning carpets, mopping floors, and wiping down surfaces like furniture and counters can go a long way toward solving your indoor air quality problems and giving you a healthier home.

However, there is a delicate balance when it comes to cleaning. Not cleaning enough can obviously be a problem by allowing dust and other debris to accumulate all over your home. However, cleaning too much also doesn’t help matters. Cleaning supplies can contain chemicals that harm your indoor air quality when they evaporate. This isn’t abnormal, particularly with supplies that are used for disinfecting (an important part of keeping your home sanitary). However, cleaning too often can lead to a ton of these gasses getting into your air, and that can cause all sorts of problems.

Owning a Pet

Before you jump to conclusions, let us clarify one thing: it isn’t a bad thing to own a pet. In fact, pets provide outstanding companionship and affection that is great for our mental and physical health. However, pets do take a toll on homes, including indoor air. Taking some proper preparation steps and making sure to clean your home regularly can counteract these issues and keep your indoor air healthy and clean.

Pets release several key microscopic pollutants into the air. Dust and dander are easily the most common, as dogs and cats carry these inside on their fur (especially if they love to roll around in dust, mud, or grass). They also release bacteria, mold spores, pollen, and other microbes that they may have tracked in from outside. Finally, dogs and cats are no stranger to odor particles, particularly if they do their business indoors. These odor particles can become embedded in any fabrics that your pets have prolonged contact with, including fabric flooring, couch or bed upholstery, and more. This is why we highly advise giving your pet a nice, comfy pillow that they can call their own, and equip it with a cover that can be easily removed and washed.