5 Best Tips To Maintain A Healthy Home

Being confined to our homes for a long period, it is important that we keep the air clean and fresh all the time. Vacuum frequently and invest in a reliable air purifier to make sure your family especially your precious children are breathing in clean air.

Now almost half of the world's population is being "trapped" indoors no thanks to the prevalent of Covid-19 Virus which is wreaking havoc in our lives. That means we are spending so much time in the comfort of our homes like never before. But then again are we sure that the air in our homes is clean? Truth is the air in your home can contain myriad substances, from particles like dust, pet dander and allergens to gases, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), NO2 and benzene. So we may want to take simple steps to keep indoor pollution levels as low as possible especially for our little ones and our elderly.

5 Tips To Maintain A Healthy Home

1. Do you know that some of the VOCs found in our homes can come from the chemicals in cleaning products we use on kitchen surfaces, bathrooms and windows? Interestingly Limonene is one of the compounds that makes cleaning products smell like citrus, but it can react with naturally-occurring ozone in the home to create Formaldehyde *gasp*. Using natural cleaning products can help lower the amount of VOCs in your indoor air. So always choose something more natural especially when you will need to use it at home with your family.

2. Keep your carpets, hard floors, upholstery and surfaces free of dust and pet hair – most effectively by vacuuming. You might be able to notice a dust cloud When you sit on the sofa or plump up a cushion . Unfortunately this dust will remain in the air and can be breathed in. In the long run this dust will be a hazard for those who have breathing problems. However this can be tackled easily by vacuuming regularly which is an easy way to decrease particulate pollution at home. 

My Toy-the Dyson V11 Absolute Cordless Vacuum Cleaner 😁

3. You might oblivious to it, but some of the things we might enjoy at home like flowers or scented candles can also be sources of indoor air pollution. Rather than avoiding them completely, try lighting candles only in moderation – for example in the evening – ensuring that you ventilate the room, or use a reliable air purifier afterwards to air you in removing any remaining VOCs or particulate matter from the air. 

4. Sure! Sometimes you would want to let natural breeze in to invigorate your home. But you need to be really wary when letting in the so-called “fresh air”. If you live next to a busy road or train line, opening the window can allow outdoor pollution, gases like NO2 and SO2, into your home. Try not to leave the windows open for too long, or ideally head outside into the fresh air for a few minutes, rather than letting it into the home. So the advice is if you want to breathe in fresh air, go out into the unknown.

5. If you are looking at purchasing a high-quality purifier, here are some things to look out for: 

• Fully-sealed filters – that will not allow the airflow to bypass the filter media, so you can be sure your air purifier is actually properly filtering the air of particles and gases in your home.
• Dual filters – HEPA or other types of particle filter remove particle pollutants from the air, like dust, pollen and pet dander. If you can, choose an air purifier with an activated carbon filter that will absorb VOCs, NO2 and other harmful gases.
• Fan functionality – to project clean air across the room, not just in the corner where the machine is sitting, just like the Dyson Pure Cool™ air purifier fan series 

I have invested in the best air purifier. How about you?

In the face of this unprecedented uncertainty due to this insidious pandemic, we might have to stay indoors even longer than we are expecting. Hence it makes perfect sense that the air that we breathe in our homes needs to be clean and fresh all the time. Otherwise it will be the air that we envelopes us that will be hazardous.

Let's keep our home clean especially for our little ones.

Images credit: Shutterstock