A quality air purifier is one way to improve air quality in your home. However, you should keep a three-pronged approach in mind: Filter the air, introduce fresh air, and manage humidity, experts say. Here are 12 ideas for improving indoor air quality, whether you or someone in your home has allergies or environmental conditions outdoors are causing poor air quality inside. The first step to better air quality is to remove anything from your home that is causing your indoor air quality to degrade, says Peter Mann, founder and CEO of Oransi, a North Carolina–based air purification company. This may or may not be easy. For example, if you have cleaning supplies, paint, or other chemicals in the house, simply move them to the garage and out of your main living area. However, Mann says that improving the air quality in your home can be as simple and quick as opening ventilation windows. Sometimes, that’s not always practical, depending on the weather, humidity, pollution, pollen levels, and other local factors outside. Some circulating thermostats will run your indoor fan for 20 minutes every hour, while others may allow the fan to run continuously at a reduced speed for constant airflow. If you have a smart thermostat, you may also be able to turn on the fan manually from your phone when you need some extra circulation. “This feature will constantly draw air out of the home, thereby drawing fresh air in to replace it,” Wood says. If you don’t want to run the exhaust fan constantly, focus on running it for an extra 20 minutes after a shower or when your home is in need of a refresh. Take care of your dehumidifier, and keep it clean and running throughout the humid season in your area, Wood says. For example, in the Northeast, April through October would make sense; it would be sensible for Floridians to run dehumidifiers all year long to remove sticky air. He recommends changing your air filter every 30 days or so (or if you have a larger capacity filter, every six months). Keep replacement filters on hand so you have them when you need them. Excess exposure to harmful VOCs can cause headaches and irritation to your eyes, nose, and throat. Many cleaning, disinfecting, cosmetic, degreasing, and hobby products contain VOCs, too. Avoid these products whenever possible, and when you can’t, ensure you thoroughly ventilate your home. Some plants are able to filter out harmful chemicals and VOCs from wood, cleaning products, furniture, trash, carpets, natural gas, and more, says Dakota Hendrickson, co-founder of Filti, a filtration technology company based in Kansas City, Mo. Because this job requires some complex cleaning equipment, it’s best to leave this job to a professional. In the meantime, be sure to clean and dust all your registers and grilles.
