Home Decor Ideas to Improve Your Indoor Air Quality
Home is where your heart is. This is exactly why when decorating our homes, we pour our heart and soul into making it truly our own. However, if your home doesn’t have good indoor air quality, it’s not going to be your favorite place to be! Poor indoor air quality can cause a number of health issues, especially in those with respiratory problems. Protect your home and your heart with these decorating ideas that promote healthy indoor air quality.
Switch to Hardwood Floors
According to the American Lung Association, carpets trap dust mites, pet dander, mold spores, dust, and tons of other harmful allergens. Some carpets even contain VOCs (volatile organic compounds) that can emit odors and pollutants that can negatively affect your health. Protect your family inside your home by switching to hardwood floors wherever possible. For more tips on protecting your family from the effects of carpet, read this helpful article.
If you’re unable to switch to hardwood flooring, it’s important you keep your carpets clean by vacuuming at least weekly, especially if you have pets.
Buy Furniture With No VOCs
You’ve probably heard of removing fragrances, personal care, and cleaning products with VOCs from your home for a safer environment, but did you know furniture can also contain VOCs? The American Lung Association tells us VOCs can affect us by irritating eyes, noses, and throats, causing difficulty breathing, and even causing damage to our central nervous system. So, when buying new furniture to decorate your home with, choose low-VOC or even VOC-free options. Products with no or low VOCs are much more common and affordable these days, and will help improve your indoor air quality.
Use Curtains In Place of Blinds
While blinds are effective at keeping the sunlight out of your home on hot summer days, they’re also great at gathering large amounts of dust and other allergens. Blinds are also difficult to clean completely because of all the nooks and crannies you have to get in to do so. If you’re looking to improve your indoor air quality, try decorating your home with curtains in place of blinds. You can even layer your curtains to have a thin curtain that allows you to see out and lets some sunlight in, and a thicker curtain for complete privacy or shade. Be sure to wash curtains biweekly to keep your indoor air quality at its best.
Incorporate House Plants Inside
Some plants are natural purifiers that help to reduce allergens from your home’s air. However, knowing the right plants to use inside your home is crucial to having good indoor air quality. Some plants that can aid in the removal of allergens from inside your home include Chrysanthemums, Dracaenas, Bamboo Palms, and Peace Lilies. Check out Healthline’s full list of air purifying plants for your home here.
Use Beeswax Candles
If you like to burn candles to add a relaxing ambiance to your home, try burning beeswax candles instead of highly-scented, artificially-colored candles. Beeswax candles have a number of benefits, but most importantly, they produce a natural ionization that neutralizes pollutants in your home’s air. To learn more about the benefits of beeswax candles, visit Bee Friends Farm’s website!
Add Entry Mats and Shoe Storage
When you enter your home, did you know you bring in large amounts of pollen and other outdoor allergens inside on your clothes, shoes, skin, and even in your hair? You can cut down on the amount of pollen being brought into your home by adding an entry mat and shoe storage to your decor. Once your guests wipe the bottom of their shoes on the entry mat, the number of pollutants entering your home will be reduced. Ask guests to then place their shoes inside storage bins to help cut down on the amount of allergens being spread throughout your home as well.
Don’t Clutter
While picking spots for your decor and new furniture pieces, it’s important you don’t clutter spaces with too many items. Over-cluttered spaces will make it harder for you to clean, so more dust will accrue in these areas over time, lowering your indoor air quality. Homes that are overrun by clutter provide an environment for allergens to flourish.
Invest In Air Purification
Your best bet for having the cleanest, healthiest indoor air is to invest in an air purification system. Don’t worry! An air purification won’t mess up your new decor. Garrison & Garrison offers an air purification system that installs right into your existing ductwork, so you won’t notice any difference other than improved indoor air quality. Start eliminating up to 99.9% of allergens from the air in your home by having an air purification system professionally installed by the technicians at Garrison & Garrison. Call us for more information on the air purifiers we offer.
Contact Us
Garrison & Garrison is a trusted American Standard Heating & Air Conditioning Customer Care Dealer in Huntsville, AL. Call us at (256) 859-8500 or email us at [email protected] with any questions or for more information. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
