IMPROVING YOUR INDOOR AIR QUALITY IQ AT HOME
House Detective Steve Ramos Helps ‘Clear the Air’ In and Around the Home
Think you know what contributes to allergens in the home? While most people look to the obvious for prevention - dusting surfaces, cleaning countertops and vacuuming carpeting – many don’t realize there are other home cleaning and maintenance tasks that can directly impact your home’s indoor air quality (IAQ).
“Having a healthy IAQ IQ is really about knowing what things in your home directly affect indoor air quality and how to help prevent them from starting or spreading,” said Steve Ramos, featured home inspector on HGTV’s House Detective. “Most people are unaware that making simple changes and keeping up with home maintenance can substantially help improve your indoor air quality.”
Follow these 4 C’s – Control, Change, Close and Clean – from House Detective Steve Ramos to help improve your home’s IAQ IQ:
CONTROL
Controlling mold, pet dander, dust mites and other allergens from entering or spreading throughout the home is the number one step to a better IAQ IQ:
- Leave your shoes at the door so you limit tracking allergens from the outdoors into the home
- Help prevent mold growth by keeping the relative humidity between 30-50 percent
- Increase airflow and help control humidity levels by moving furniture away from walls and opening closet doors
- Use a high gloss, washable wall paint with mold inhibitor on the walls and ceilings in the bathroom
- Block dust mites by covering your mattresses, box springs and pillows with special casing
- Identify known outdoor allergen sources and remove them from landscaping around the home
CHANGE
Changing items in the home such as carpeting and furnace or air filters can have a drastic impact on your indoor air quality. If you want to reduce allergens in the home, these (replacing carpet isn’t a small change) changes that can make a big difference:
- Replace carpet with hard surface flooring that can be damp mopped
- Upgrade your air filter to a high-performance filter, such as the Filtrete 1” Advanced Allergen filter, which captures at least 90 percent of large airborne particles from the air as it passes through the filter
- Change your air filter every three months or according to manufacturers’ recommendations. An easy way to remember is to change your filter when the seasons change.
- Cheap vacuum bags can stir up allergens when vacuuming so replace your vacuum bag with one that contains a HEPA filter
- On a semi-annual basis, remove and replace all caulking around windows, siding transitions, and other areas where pipes or mechanical parts penetrate the exterior walls to help prevent mold growth
CLOSE
Close any gaps that allow pollutants or water to spread in the home. Pay specific attention to the kitchen, bathrooms and areas that surround the home to ensure condensation or standing water doesn’t lead to mold growth:
- In the kitchen, make sure the exhaust fan is connected to a duct that goes to the exterior of the home so pollutants don’t enter the home
- Showers, especially in smaller bathrooms, can raise the humidity levels and can create condensation on walls and ceilings, so install and utilize an exhaust fan in the bathroom
- Only install hard surface flooring in bathrooms and maintain a good seal where flooring meets tubs and showers so water doesn’t pile up
- A leaky roof increases the probability that mold will grow in your home so seal around all vents, skylights and chimneys
- Ensure all downspouts drain to a pipe that carries the water away from the home by at least six feet or leads to a street gutter system that drains to a storm drain
CLEAN
The final element to helping improve indoor air quality is cleaning – wiping down surfaces, washing bedding and cleaning areas that are often dark and hidden. Cleaning what you can see is an important part to cleaning what you don’t see – the air you breathe in the home:
- Clean the grease filter above your stove and the dust build up that collects on your refrigerator coils
- Regularly wash bedding and linens at high heats - approximately 140 degrees Fahrenheit - to help keep dust mites from collecting on your bedding
- Dust blinds and wash curtains on a regular basis
- Bathe and groom your pets on a regular basis to help keep pet dander at bay
- Clean your gutters and downspouts on a semi-annual basis to help prevent standing water or dampness around the home
