Poor indoor air quality can cause an array of negative side effects ranging from issues as simple as discomfort to adverse health effects such as severe fatigue and respiratory conditions.
Poor indoor air quality can plague any town, home, or building due to a variety of factors. However, those living in big cities are more likely to experience poor indoor air quality.
Cities have a lot going on at all times. They are composed of dense seas of people packed into high-rise apartment buildings, and each person in a city unintentionally carries pollen and dust around, to a greater extent than non-urban areas.
This means that cities have more pollutants in the air that can potentially make their way into your home. Pollutants can come in the form of chemical and industrial emissions and car emissions, and from the natural environment in the form of particles.
Below, are a few ways to keep big city pollutants out of your home.
Plants
Bringing plants into your home can promote better air quality, but only when using certain plants.
Aloe Vera plants are one of the top choices for plants that will improve air quality. Specifically, they can get rid of formaldehyde in your home.
Larger palm plants are also great at filtering pollutants out of your home. Palms can clean most toxins out of the air, especially those toxins that are known to cause cancer. They can even eliminate the smell of cigarette smoke!
If you prefer flowers, daisies are known to remove indoor toxins in a way that is similar to how effectively palms remove toxins.
Combine plants’ superpower ability to purify the air with the fact that plants and flowers are few and far between in big cities, and you see why adding indoor plants to your home is a great way to improve air quality – not to mention decor.
Air Humidifiers
There are a lot of humidifiers out on the market that can help increase air quality in cities with a dry climate and in cities that experience intense winters.
It may seem counterproductive to use a humidifier to improve air quality, but certain humidifiers like cool mist humidifiers can actually help you breathe easier.
If poor air quality is making it hard for you to breathe, a humidifier can adjust the humidity in your home to promote better breathing. This is especially beneficial for people who suffer from asthma and severe seasonal allergies.
Cool mist humidifiers can also trap certain pollutants such as dust and animal dander and as you can see at resources like iPropertyManagement, some models even have special UV lights to kill bacteria!
Vents and Filters
Heating and cooling systems accumulate a lot of dust and dirt and debris. All of the particles in the air somehow find their way into cooling and heating vents.
Depending on the season these particles can accumulate and sit in an inactive heating or cooling vent. Suddenly, when the season and weather change the heat or AC kicks on and out comes millions of particles to pollute the air.
This can make it hard for anyone to breathe, but if you or a loved one suffers from asthma or other pre-existing respiratory issue this diminished air quality can have serious consequences.
To be safe, it is best to change heating and cooling vent filters with the change of each season to promote better indoor air quality.
Keep Up with the Cleaning
It might seem trivial but cleaning your city home is essential in maintaining an acceptable level of air quality.
You bring the outdoors into your home every single time you come and go. Do you always take your shoes off every time you walk-through the door? Do you always take off your coat and shake it out outside before walking through the door?
Odds are that you don’t, and even if you do you are still unintentionally tracking invisible pollutants into your home.
It is best to dust and vacuum your house once per week to decrease the amount of pollutant particles that are floating throughout your house or apartment. If you have carpet, be extra careful not to wear your shoes in the house, if you can, and vacuum more regularly.
The less particles there are, the better the air quality.
Overall, air quality in big cities is far worse than in more rural areas. Poor air quality can pose a big threat to your health. Luckily, there are steps you can take to breathe easier.