6 Way to Improve Your Home Air Quality (And 1 Solution Thats a Waste of Time) – PureWow

3. Damp Mop and DustAccording to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the act of dusting can actually make allergies worse, since the cloud of dust stirred up can make sufferers sneeze, and get stuffy noses and watery or red, itchy eyes. To avoid dust and the tiny dust mites that feed off of it, avoid wall-to-wall carpeting, especially in bedrooms. If youre the sufferer, wear an N95 mask while youre cleaning (and for a couple hours after, while the dust settles); if a family member is sensitive to dust, its best to ask them to leave for the few hours it takes to clean the house. Get rid of unnecessary clutter, which is a dust magnet, and dampen your microfiber dusting cloth before swiping it across a surface, so that youre not circulating the dust.4. Test Your Air Quality

Air quality testers use laser beams and electrochemical sensors to determine pollutants in the air. While noted tech-testing site Wirecutter cautions against investing in a pricey air quality monitor since these devices only report and dont remedy the problem, the sites product testers allow that it can still be helpful to have a finer assessment of your homes air quality than just looking up your neighborhood AQI. The Temtop M10 monitor is a sleek little cube thats relatively affordable at $80 and detects particles in the air, volatile organic compounds and formaldehyde. One user said she had the monitor in a nearby room when she opened a bottle of nail polish and the HCHO (formaldehyde) and TVOC (total volatile organic compounds) numbers skyrocketed and didnt go down for hours.

You track in pollutants on your shoes, and your home is a veritable soup of dead skin cells, animal dander and whatever wafts in the windows from nearby roadways, according to Todd Nelson at Studio City Vacuum and Sewing. Theres no point in having any air purifier if youre just moving dust around with your vacuum, he says, so he recommends skipping the bagless models because almost all of them spew dust. Look for a model that has a HEPA filter, in addition to other filters (i.e., charcoal for odors), such as a Miele model that uses its cloth dust bags as filters. While the expense of a high-end vacuum might be daunting (Miele, for example, ranges from $400 to $1,500), refurbished models are often available at licensed retailers for half the cost of a new model.

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6 Way to Improve Your Home Air Quality (And 1 Solution Thats a Waste of Time) - PureWow