I recently purchased an 80 year old home. The first thing I did was purchase an ionic fan to clean up the old, stale air. I opened all of the doors and also purchased an air filter and dehumidifier. Because my home was so old and located in a part of the neighborhood that is shaded under some tall trees, it was important to me to take every precaution possible when cleaning my home.
I placed the ionic fan in the hallway next to their air purifier. The dehumidifier went in the basement and both ends of the house had open doors and windows. Especially when I was painting and doing the chemical cleans, I paid special attention to making sure the air in my home was fresh so that I would not be breathing in toxins that would harm my brain.
I felt like once I was finished with all of the vacuuming and dusting, my house was pretty clean, so I moved the ionic fans and air fresheners. I didn’t throw them away, but I moved them into less obvious parts of the house, like only the basement or in the corners of my family room.
Several months after I used the ionic fan, I should mention, there was a report published that said ionic fans did not actually work. Instead, they infused the air with harmful amounts of ozone that damaged the air in the home. Now, I don’t recommend the ionic fans to anyone, but before this happened, I told all of my friends to get one.
On an on-going basis, the biggest concern I have when it comes to cleaning the air in my home involves cleaning the moisture from the air so that mold does not form. I rely very heavily on a dehumidifier to help me get moisture from the air. Additionally, I constantly clean the basement with cleaning agents that are built to get rid of fungus.
I scrub the bathroom monthly, but spray the shower with a mold reducer on a daily basis. Most reducers can be purchased at any drugstore and are basically a mild mixture of cleaning solution that you can just sprits on your shower tiles and curtain after use. The solution is not harmful to the surfaces, but it lifts dirt. The only thing I worry about is the toxic level of solution that may remain in the air after I use it, so I try not to go back in the bathroom after I use it and I turn the exhaust fan all the way up so that it sucks moisture effectively.
I also think that regular vacuuming and dusting is essential to keeping the air in the home clean. It sucks dirt and harmful amounts of dust from the air. When cleaning, I always learned to start at the top and work your way down, so I start by dusting places like above the doors and on the top shelves. Then, at the end of my cleaning regimen, I vacuum the space to get the cleanest air.