With the arrival of winter there are some new actions you have to take in order to keep your indoor air as clean as possible. With newer building codes essentially making homes airtight, there isn’t a lot of circulation in the winter, and the air in your home can become quite dirty. Here are three tips for better air in your home in the winter.
Houseplants Help Indoor Air
1. Get a few indoor plants. As mentioned in the last post, plants do a lot for people. This is especially true in winter. Because of less air circulation there is a buildup of potentially harmful gasses, including carbon dioxide. Plants filter out a lot of the harmful gases, plus they take out carbon dioxide and add oxygen. Nothing else in your home will increase your oxygen levels. That’s an important point, as there are many things out there that will take things out of the air, but only plants put something back in. Unless you have an oxygen machine or oxygen canisters….but somehow I doubt it.
A humidifer keeps the air moist.
2. Use a humidifier. Air can be really dry during the winter, and a lack of moisture can really irritate mucous membranes. This can lead to a whole range of symptoms, from bloody noses to coughing. It’s important to keep enough moisture in the air so that it is comfortable.
If you can, get one of those ultrasonic misters. They’re absolutely great.
Woodstoves decrease indoor air quality.
3. Easy on the woodstove action. Any combustion, either from a woodstove, gas stove, or pellets has a few side effects. First, all combustion uses oxygen, so you’re lowering the amount of 02 with every fire. Also, there is no such thing as complete combustion so there are a whole range of end products from burning – some are molecules, some are particles. Neither is good to be breathing. Not to mention that fires make the air drier.
I know they add a nice touch of ambiance, but try to use them sparingly. In fact, they’re so bad for air pollution that there is a fire ban on right now in the Puget Sound area – they were affecting outdoor air quality.
So stay healthy this winter by taking care of your indoor air.
