With Jon Albert
It’s April, the weather is beginning to break, and all living forms are gearing up for a new beginning. The change may inspire you to start your spring cleaning. We all spend more time indoors in the winter, which only increases the urgency of a cleanup.
The air inside a house can be up to eight times more polluted than the air outside. All you have to do is spray an air freshener to realize how much that stuffy air was weighing on you. Yet, excessive use of air fresheners will increase air pollution. Understanding the sources of dust can help you mitigate their influence and reduce your need for air fresheners.
Outdoor dust is mostly made of soil and pollen and is the most prevalent form of dust. Clutter in your house means more surfaces for outdoor dust to settle on. If you have unread books stacked on a table or some decor on a shelf that you don’t even notice anymore, cleaning them off or placing them in storage bins can make a huge difference. Wiping the cover of a bin is way easier than washing all the facets and kinks of a myriad of nick-nacks.
Indoor dust is composed of our own skin flakes, pet dander, and fabric fibers. It resides in items that come in contact with our bodies and those of our pets. Washing bedsheets, towels, and washable rugs weekly will reduce air pollution indoors. For unwashable items such as sofa cushions and pillow, a vacuum with a HEPA filter, or even using a tennis racket to beat the upholstery outdoors, will improve the air quality of your home.
Happy spring cleaning!