We have tried to make our home as nontoxic as possible. When I was a child, I had bad allergies to cats and dust, and now that’s shifted to springtime pollen. My husband has had bad allergies to pollen for a long time too. As someone with a chronic illness (well, several), I am also conscious that indoor air quality is an often overlooked but very important aspect of our overall health. I feel better knowing that our air quality is good.
Indoor air quality is especially important when you have small children in your home. Growing kids are especially sensitive to chemicals.
How can you help your indoor air stay clean this winter?
Start with the fundamentals. When you paint, paint with low or no-VOC paint. VOCs are volatile organic compounds, and they can cause chemicals to move into the household air from your paint. In older homes, test existing paint for lead.
When you choose a new floor, use glues and flooring made out of natural materials whenever possible. Look for floors like natural linoleum, which is naturally antibacterial. Look for floor cleaners that use less toxic or non-toxic methods.
Use an air filter in your furnace or use a portable one in your bedroom. A HEPA filter will help extract a lot of the dust and pollen from your room. If you need to, use a dehumidifier for damp spaces to prevent mold from growing inside your home. Mold spores are something that bothers a lot of people.
In the late fall or early winter, clean your air ducts so that any dust or pollen that is trapped in them gets taken out before the next season.
Clean regularly, and do it with nontoxic materials. The chemicals that you spray onto your sink and your stove get into the air and can contribute to poor air quality in the home.
What do you do to keep your air clean?