Top Fifteen Tips for Home Environmental Control

Top Fifteen Tips for Improving Indoor Air Quality and

Reducing your Allergen Exposure

 

  1. Improve Ventilation in the home.
  2. No smoking inside the home at any time.
  3. Measure the indoor humidity and keep it below 50%. Do not use vaporizers or humidifiers. You may need a dehumidifier.
  4. Use vent fans in bathrooms and when cooking to remove moisture. Repair all water leaks.
  5. Vent gas appliances and fireplaces to the outside and maintain regularly.
  6. Minimize use of candles, incense, aerosols, air fresheners, ect.
  7. Keep pets out of the bedroom at ALL times
  8. Mite-proof Encasings
  9. Remove wall-to-wall carpets from the bedroom if possible.
  10. Pest-control
  11. Use a central vacuum, a cyclonic vacuum or vacuum with a HEPA filter regularly. Remember it takes over 2 hours for the dust to settle back down.
  12. Wear NIOSH N95 particulate respirator when vacuuming, sweeping, or doing yard work to reduce your exposure to fine particulates and allergens.
  13. Regular maintenance of HVAC, gas appliances, fireplace
  14. Install a MERV (Minimum Efficiency Rating Valve) 11 or 12 disposable high efficiency media filter in the furnace and air conditioning system. Change filter every 3 months. Leave the fan “on” to create whole house filtration.
  15.  Use a HEPA Air Cleaner in the bedroom with an adequate CADR
  16.  (Clean Air Delivery Rate) for the size of the room