8 Ways To Naturally Clean The Air At Home
Indoor air quality is important and can be greatly impacted by the presence of air pollutants ushered in by people, pets, household cleaning materials, and even the outdoor air. Outdoors common pollutants like pollen, dust mites, mold, bacteria, or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) aren’t as big of a threat. Indoors, however, it’s an entirely different story.
At home, these air pollutants are present in much higher concentrations because indoor areas are often enclosed and less ventilated. This means it is easy for air pollutants to enter your home, but it’s very difficult to get them out! Unchecked, these air pollutants can trigger allergies, asthma attacks, and can even cause serious respiratory diseases in the long run.
However, there are several ways to remove air pollutants at home. One of the best ways, of course, is to invest in a high quality air purifier. If you’re iffy about investing in an air purifier, though, and would rather go a more natural and economical route to cleanse the air in your home, there are several alternative air purifying techniques available. This article offers 8 proven ways to naturally clean the air at home so that you can start making your indoor air a little cleaner.
1. Clean your home regularly
This might seem obvious, but cleaning on a regular basis will make a difference. Vacuuming is particularly important, but not just the floors. Walls, carpet edges, and upholstered furniture also need to be thoroughly and regularly vacuumed.
Also, set schedules for when you should wash and change your sheets. Ideally, sheets should be changed once a week to keep dust mites and other allergens at bay. In addition, air filters on air conditioners, heaters, furnaces, and vacuum cleaners need to be regularly cleaned so that they remain effective.
2. Ditch your carpet
As much as you may love your wall-to-wall carpet, it may be introducing toxins and VOCs to your home without your knowledge. This is because the chemicals used in manufacturing carpets may release VOCs like formaldehyde in a process called off-gassing, especially when they’re first installed. They will continue releasing low levels of VOCs for years to come. Aside from that, carpets also trap pollutants like dirt and dust mites.
If you love your carpets, however, and just aren’t ready to let go yet, there are other ways. You can choose, for example, to have plastic-lined carpets instead to make it harder for stains and pollutants to penetrate it.
3. Have activated charcoal around your home
Activated charcoal has long been used in filters to purify air and water. It’s even being used in different beauty products today. This is because charcoal is an odorless substance that is highly absorbent, being able to effectively eliminate toxins and odors from your home. Activated bamboo charcoal is an affordable alternative and is available in pouches or bags which you can hang or place around your house.
4. Use a salt crystal lamp
Having a Himalayan Pink Salt lamp in your room or keeping it at your office desk is a perfect way to cleanse the air around you. Himalayan pink salt is a known air purifier that’s able to pull toxins from the environment and neutralizes them. In fact, all salt crystal products reduce airborne irritants, allergens, and pathogens by pulling water vapor out of the air. As a bonus, it adds a beautiful rustic touch to your interiors and glows naturally while not disrupting your sleep. Though it works better turned on, these salt lamps also work even when powered off, thanks to the nature of the salt crystal itself.
5. Increase ventilation
No, we don’t mean open your windows; rather, we suggest installing trickle vents to purify and recycle the indoor air. Exhaust fans are a great alternative that help push pollutants outside. Additionally, it’s also a good idea to let the steam out after you take a shower to keep mold and mildew to a minimum.
Kitchens in particular need to be properly ventilated, as they are a major cause of indoor air pollution, especially if you use a gas stove which is capable of producing unhealthy levels of nitrogen dioxide.
6. Light some beeswax candles
Beeswax candles have the ability to ionize the air and neutralise toxic compounds and contaminants. They can not only improve the quality of air in our houses, but they also burn slowly so they don’t need to be replaced often. In fact, absolutely pure quality of beeswax candles burn with almost no smoke or scent. If you have asthmatic family members at home, these candles can be very helpful. They even remove common allergens like dust from the air.
7. Grow some houseplants
Believe it or not, plants are nature’s air purifiers! Different kinds of houseplants can purify air and they are one of the best ways to counter pollution indoors, especially if you are dealing with respiratory illnesses. According to a study conducted by NASA, houseplants can purify and rejuvenate air within our houses and workplaces, safeguarding us from any side effects associated with prevalent toxins like ammonia, formaldehyde, and benzene. We recommend having a plant for every 100 sq. ft. of your home to get the maximum air purifying effect!
Some examples of air purifying plants include spider plant, peace lily, snake plant, bamboo palm, and boston fern.
8. Start a collection of essential oils
Essential oils are gaining popularity these days because they provide a more natural, holistic approach to treating common illnesses like the flu. In addition to having medicinal properties, essential oils like rosemary, cinnamon, oregano, lemon, and tea tree have the ability to kill bacteria, viruses, fungi, and mold making them excellent air purifiers.
Studies have shown that Thieves oil, which is an antiseptic blend of pure essential oils, has a 99.96% kill rate against airborne bacteria. This unique mix of essential oils helps make your home more sanitary by eliminating germs. To use essential oils for air purification, you can add a few drops to a bowl of lukewarm water and let the bowl sit in the room you spend the most time in to cleanse the air.
Final Thoughts
Cleaning the air in your living space can begin with any of these natural air cleaners. For a small investment you can make great strides in improving the air quality in your home immediately.
