10 Steps to the Best Home Air Purification

Allergy and Asthma Air Purifiers, HEPA Filters Keep Indoor Air Clean

© Victoria Anisman-Reiner

Apr 28, 2009

If you suffer from allergies or asthma, you know just how important clean air can be. Other people who aren't so sensitive may not be aware that home air is more polluted with dust, mold, pollen, bacteria and viruses than what they breathe on city streets. Read on for the best ten air purification steps to clean up the air quality inside your home.

Total Air Purification System: Ten Tips for the Best Air Purification

1. Green Your Cleaning Products: One of the worst sources of home and office allergens comes in the form of everyday cleaning products. Sprays and aerosols are particularly bad for air quality, but most mainstream cleaners contain toxins that stay trapped inside rooms and air vents for years. If it's got a poison warning on the bottle, it's not safe to breathe it in, either.
2. Stop Using Paint, Glue, Nail Polish, and Nail Polish Remover Indoors: If you must use paints or adhesives, try to do your work outdoors or in a ventilated shed. At the very least, leave a window open until the smell of your nail polish remover has thoroughly aired out.
3. Use Onions Against the Worst Odors: Cut onions have an amazing ability to absorb chemical aromas and poisons from the air. Chop up an onion and leave it out on a dish for a day or two after painting or using cleaning chemicals.
4. Install a HEPA Furnace Air Filter: A HEPA filter is made up of special cloth-like fibers that filter particles out of indoor air, and should be installed where it will process most household air – in your furnace or air circulation system.
5. Ban Cigarettes, Perfumes, Candles and Incense from Your Home: Candles, cigarettes, and even fireplaces all emit chemicals that can cause allergic reactions and damage sensitive respiratory tissues. Perfume and incense are equally harmful.
6. Vacuum More Often: Carpets hold a huge volume of dust, mold spores and trapped allergens. Some vacuums do a better job than others, so make sure you have a powerful vacuum that picks up particles that affect air quality.
7. Get Rid of Broadloom Carpet: Of course, even better than vacuuming is cleaning under your carpets and beating them out – something that can't be done to broadloom. Wall to wall broadloom is terrible for allergy sufferers because it traps all kinds of dirt, dust mites, mold, pollen, and dander within and under the rug that can never be cleaned.
8. Wash Pets and Change Beddings Often: Many allergy sufferers can still have pets as long as they are vigilant and careful about keeping them clean. Dogs are dirty animals, and should be washed every few weeks. Cat litter should be cleaned every day or two and changed weekly. Pet beds (or furniture, if they sleep on the couch) should be vacuumed often.
9. Try an Ionic Air Purifier: Negative ions have been shown to have a profound impact on air quality and human health. A negative air ionizer or a natural salt lamp helps pull particles like dust and bacteria out of the air and may relieve headaches, fatigue, dizziness, and nausea.
10. Keep Potted Plants: Plants are the original, natural natural home air cleaners, filtering toxins out of the air and increasing oxygen levels. Spider plants are particularly good at filtering chemicals and fumes out of the air, and they are easy to care for and maintain.

Trying even a few of these tips will help clean up the air quality at home or at work, and can go a long way to strengthen immunity, relieve cold and allergy symptoms, and ensure greater clarity, peace of mind and productivity.

Sources

• Allergy Escape, "The Truth About Air Purifiers," AllergyEscape.com, accessed 27 April 2009.
• Brown, Deborah L., "Houseplants Help Clean Indoor Air," University of Minnesota Extension Service, Extension.umn.edu, 1999.

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