Increase ventilation:
Inadequate air circulation is a major cause of stuffy and dump home atmosphere. Poor ventilation enhances the growth of harmful bacteria, dust mites, and allergens in and around your home. Even dust particles can easily trapped inside the house when ventilation is insufficient. If remain uncontrolled, these pollutants can cause skin and respiratory problems. Well-ventilated rooms ensure healthy home atmosphere. Mechanical devices such as exhaust fans in kitchen, bathroom, and washroom help in removing harmful gases and contaminated air from the house.
Avoid moulds and moisture:
Mold is a fungus that grows in warm, damp, and humid conditions where there is little air movement. Mold spores are small airborne that can cause respiratory issues. Bathrooms, storeroom, under carpet, area around the AC, and leaky sinks are favorite places for moulds. The key to mold control is moisture control. Fix sources of moisture problems as soon as possible. Wet carpet and mattress, as well as dump cardboard boxes are major sources of mould collection. Watch for wet spots and clean and dry these wet or damp spots within 48 hours.
Daily cleaning:
Untidy and dirty rooms contaminate the surrounding air. It is important to clean the home and surroundings to keep dust, molds, bacteria, and dust particles away from the home. A hygienic and cleaned environment helps you in making home environment fresh and safe from diseases. Dry dusting may spread dust particles in air so use a damp cloth to clean up. Dust can accumulate everywhere. If you have AC then it is important to clean its air filters after every 15 days because dust particles stuck in AC can be a cause of asthma. If you have plants at home, clean leaves regularly to get rid of dirt. Clean wood and tile floors regularly with white vinegar to kill germs.
Home freshness ideas:
Half filled the empty outer covering of lemon or orange fruited with sea salt (easily available in market). Set them at the corner of your bathrooms, rooms and store room. It will absorb all bad odors, replace the cover and salt after every few days to keep the space fresh and unstinky. Charcoal is known for its capabilities for removing bacteria, air pollutants, and extra moisture of the room. Place a bowel of coal on a side corner for removing bad smell and bacteria of the congested areas. Place a handful of whole cloves or a cinnamon stick in a pot of water and keep it simmering on the stove for half an hour. It will spread aroma all around the home.
Carpets matters:
Carpet fibers are feasible to collect allergens, dirt particles, and unwanted smells. Cleaning carpet regularly helps to eliminate dust mites growth and allergy particles. Use doormat and take off shoes outside the carpet area because your shoes may be the carrier of fungal spores, dust particles, allergens, or dust mites etc. It is said that by taking off shoes outside common toxins are reduced by 60%.
Bad odor often gets within the carpet. To get your carpet smelling fresh again mix 1/2 cup of vinegar with 1 cup of warm water. Pour this vinegar and warm water solution into a spray bottle and apply to the carpet. Next, spread a generous amount of baking soda directly onto the affected area of your carpet. Give the carpet some time to dry before vacuuming the baking soda completely.
To get rid of dirt, small particles of foods etc, prepare a mixture of 1/2 cup borax, 1/2 cup baking soda and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or cloves or 30 drops of essential oil. Now sprinkle the powder on carpet and vacuum as usual. Place a bowel of baking soda in refrigerator to prevent bad odor.
Get help from houseplants:
Spruce up your home décor with houseplants. NASA conducted a study, which stated that you have at least one plant per 100 square feet of home for efficient air cleaning to be accomplished. Many indoor plants have power to detoxify our houses by removing harmful compounds, pollutants, and gases from the air. Both the snake plant and the spider plant are well known for their abilities to absorb toxins from the air. While areca palm tree is also a good air purifier as well as effective electric humidifier. Well known money plant is also good for rejuvenate air within our houses.
Give attention to bathroom:
Even a clean and tidy bathroom may still smell. There are some simple and effective ways to freshen it up. Just mix 2 cups of water, a tablespoon of white vinegar and a teaspoon of baking soda with 10 drops of your favorite essential oil (for fragrance), then transfer the liquid into a spray bottle to use as needed. Lemons are great at neutralizing odors, and leave your bathroom nice and fresh. Just remember to change the lemon slices once a week.
Good to know:
- Avoid smoking inside. Tobacco smoke has more than 4,000 chemical compounds, at least 250 are known to cause disease. - Never warm-up your car near house. It may emmit carbon mono oxide. (A poisonous gas). - Poor air quality can cause headaches, sneezing, dry eyes, skin rashes, and drowsiness. - If you are a fan of barbeque then do it in open area away from the home.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017