5 ways to Improve the Air quality in Your Home

Can you feel shifts in air quality? Towards the end of winter, around February, I start opening windows and leaving doors open, letting fresh air flood the house.

"It's two degrees Celsius outside." My husband howls. "Why are you opening doors and windows?"

"I know. I know. It's too cold to have the windows open." I say, but "The air in the house is stale and dry. I can't stand it! Can't you feel it?"

He shrugs his shoulders in defeat. He may not feel the same way I do, but we commiserate together about draining sinuses, having a dry cough, and what feels like a low-grade chest cold. I pledged my commitment to fix the air in the house. My research reveals my problem is threefold. Cold air saps moisture from the air causing an extreme lack of humidity. Closed-in spaces can cause dust and germs to accumulate. In addition, the air may have too few negative ions. The solution can include purchasing a humidifier, a standard air purifier, an ion generating air purifier, or even house plants.

1. Filters, Ducts, and Cooking Vents

Monitoring the incoming and outgoing air in your house or apartment is an excellent place to begin. Check air-conditioner filters before and after seasonal use and change if necessary. The same goes for air ducts. A quick vacuuming while doing regular house cleaning can reduce dust, animal dander, and mites improving your overall air quality. Another easy solution is a fan. Whether a fan you can move around or a ceiling fan, airflow improves air quality ridding your house of stagnant or smelly air.

2. Control the humidity

I started with a humidifier. If you live where the temperature can get below freezing and cold enough to snow, you know how dry the air can get. You also know how warm-dry air sucks up moisture if you have a wood-burning fireplace or stove. It's how clothes dryers work.

I love the snow. We live in a place where we get at least 52 inches or more every winter. And, of course, nothing warms a house like a wood-burning stove. A humidifier must be the answer to solve the problem. I began with a small one, and although there was no way it could satisfy the moisture needs of the entire house, it was perfect for our bedroom.

My nighttime cough was better.

After my experiment with the bedroom-sized humidifier, I didn't purchase the biggest humidifier I could find, but I did buy a portable "whole house pedestal style" evaporator humidifier. It evaporates at least three gallons of water into the air every 24 hours. I can feel the quality of the air change when I forget to fill it up within two hours of an empty tank.

It came with a humidity gauge that I also found helpful. I can monitor humidity levels in the house throughout the year. Good air quality moisture is between 30 and 60%. Lower than 30%, your body starts to feel the dry air. Your skin, hair, and nails begin to dry out, become brittle, and in extreme cases, crack. Some people will suffer from a dry cough. With higher humidity levels above 60%, your windows may start to fog. In the southeast part of the country, in the summer, where the humidity can rise to 90%, it can feel like a sauna.

I had no idea what the air quality in my house was before getting a humidity gauge. Before hooking up my humidifier, the gauge measured the moisture in my house was 12%! There was a significant improvement with the "whole house pedestal style" evaporator humidifier. Can it raise the humidity in the "whole house" to 30% and above? No, but it does well on the main floor of the house, where there are open living spaces, so I have no complaints.

3. Air Purifier vs. an Ionizer

For some, an air purifier vs. an ionizer is an either-or opposition. A mechanical air purifier can remove large particles from the air, such as pollen and dust. It has a fan to circulate the air and a filter to remove harmful large airborne particles, which can help if you suffer from allergies or severe asthma. An electronic "negative ion generator" removes small airborne particles through electrostatic. Negative ion generators increase the electrostatic in the air. These negative ions are attracted to dust, mold spores, pet dander, and other floating pollutants, making them so heavy they fall to the floor, cleaning the air as they go. Although not as effective for those who suffer from asthma or allergies, most of us feel refreshed in the presence of negative ions. When exposed to high levels of negative ions, there is an increase in oxygen levels and blood circulation, which can help improve moods and alleviate stress.

The best way to get a high concentration of negative ions is to go out in nature. Large bodies of water, like oceans, lakes, rivers, and waterfalls, release high levels of negative ions and higher oxygen levels, also known to improve mental and physical health.

4. Indoor Plants

When in doubt, mimic nature. Photosynthesis converts carbon dioxide into fresh oxygen, and house plants can also remove toxins from the air. Easy-to-grow house plants, such as the Spider Plant, the Golden Pothos, and the Peace Lily, improve the air quality in your house and add natural beauty to your décor.

In an article from Time Magazine, "Can Indoor Plants Really Purify the Air" by Markham Heid, a NASA experiment purported that indoor plants clean cancer-causing formaldehyde and benzene from the air. They also found that even the soil microorganisms help clean the air. The larger the leaf on the plant, the better it works to purify indoor air. Bill Wolverton, who conducted the research, suggests two plants per 100 square feet. 5. Other Tips

The E.P.A (Environmental Protection Agency) puts out an excellent pamphlet about improving the air quality of your home in the "Guide to Air Cleaners in the Home." For example, there are UVGI lamps (Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation), mechanical and electrical air cleaners, and HEPA filters. Mechanical and electronic air filters are portable and can be moved from room to room for convenience. There are more permanent devices for forced-air furnaces or HVAC systems for a whole-house effect.

Consider where you live before you go out and make a purchase. For instance, you don't need a humidifier on the coast of the Pacific Northwest, Northeast, or humid areas in the south. You may need the opposite of a humidifier to remove moisture from the air like a dehumidifier.

Finally, none of these devices, tools, or plants take the place of regular cleaning and disinfecting surfaces in your home.