Breathe Easier with These Air Quality Improvement Tips

Now that we’ve reached the time of year when windows can be at least intermittently opened, you may have realized how stuffy your house is. Dust, must and stale air that you’ve gotten used to over the winter are not only suddenly unbearable, they may be affecting your health.

Poor air quality is one of the hidden culprits of allergies and respiratory illness, and it’s also one of the easiest to fix. In the spirit of spring cleaning, here’s what you can do in your home to improve the air quality and breathe easier - literally.

3 Ways to Improve Your Home's Indoor Air Quality

1) DON’T VENT YOUR CRAWL SPACE

Crawl space vents are based on an outdated mode of thought that has been disproven. Vents are easy access for dirt and bugs, both of which contribute to dust and debris in your home.

2) Seal your ducts

We’re talking about your ductwork, and if it isn’t properly sealed it could be a major contributor to the air you’re breathing. Proper sealing of your ducts will keep them clean and prevent them from blowing dust around your home. As an added bonus, sealing the ductwork helps it maintain a stable temperature, which means your HVAC has less work to do and ultimately reduces your energy bills.

3) Insulate your rim joists

Rim joists are exactly what they sound like - the joists that form the “rim” of a structure, i.e. the joists at the ends of the row when you’re looking at the support beams in the ceiling of your crawl space. Leaks around the rim joist are another point of entry for dust and less than perfect air to mess up your home. We use a product called FrothPak - a spray insulation - to seal the rim joists and prevent airflow.

These three steps should have you on your way to better air quality, so take a deep breath...and get back to cleaning out your closets!