A simple, eco-friendly way to live green and healthy is to periodically air out your home. Taking advantage of this routine releases out the reused, polluted air, and lets in a bath of fresh, cleaner air.
If not enough outdoor air gets inside a home, wafting pollutants and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) can accumulate and rise to levels that can pose health and comfort problems, such as increased allergens and asthma attacks. High heat and humidity also contribute to the problem of indoor air pollutants.
Begin by checking the air circulation system already in your home. Start with a clean, up-to-date, energy-efficient ventilation system. A number of mechanical ventilation systems built into homes successfully and consistently circulate the air. Many homes also have outdoor-mounted fans that intermittently remove air from a single room, and intricate air-handling systems that use fans and duct work to continuously remove indoor air while filtering in air-conditioned outdoor air. (Hint: These are air conditioners).
In addition to the mechanical processes, here are two simple, home-airing methods endorsed by allergists and environmentalists.
1. Passive method: Choose an afternoon when the temperature is above freezing, turn off the heat (if applicable), open the windows, and allow your home to air out for an hour and a half. If you’re home, open more windows or doors. Don’t cook anything. Let the house breathe for a bit, without wasting much natural energy.
2. Active method: Like the name suggests, this airing-out practice takes more effort. Again, pick an afternoon when the temperature is above freezing. In addition to turning off any heat sources, extinguish any fireplace or stove fires and close any flues. (If you heat your home with an unsealed furnace, stove, or fireplace and the air source is your home, you can only use the passive method.)
Begin by installing a fan in a window or attic to exhaust the air. Clean your home thoroughly, and wear a mask when vacuuming. After cleaning, open a window where the fan is not located, and then open the window with the fan and turn on the fan.
Go into another room and open a window, and then return to the original room with the open window, and close it. Continue this until you have consecutively done each room, but leave the last window open. Go back to the fan, turn it off, and close the window. Return to the final room and close that window.
This active method’s advantage is that less home energy is wasted and if it’s cold out, albeit above freezing, the house warms up faster than when you use the passive method.
More tips to consistently keep your home’s indoor air cleaner: Reduce the number of VOC emitters, such as wood furniture and vinyl shower curtains. Only use low-or-no-VOC paint. Eliminate cleaners that release toxins into the air, re-polluting it; instead use homemade cleaners. Don’t smoke indoors.
Just think about how good it feels to go outside for a breath of fresh air after being cooped up indoors. Your home feels the same way.