Want Cleaner Air? Go the Natural Route

Does the air in your home or office seem a little stuffy? Do you experience more allergies indoors than you do outdoors? Odds are your home or business’s air quality is poor. If you want to make your indoor air cleaner, you likely want to do it as naturally as possible.

In our previous blog, “7 Houseplants That Can Help You Breathe Easier,” we listed several common plants you can add to your home to improve the air quality. However, there are several other ways you can make your inside air cleaner. As a result, you can breathe better and experience fewer allergies. Read on to discover other natural methods for purifying your indoor air.

1. Salt Lamps

You’ll usually find salt lamps made from Himalayan pink salt. You plug the lamp in to heat up the salt, and the mineral draws moisture in the air to it. The heat of the lamp causes the moisture to evaporate, and this process releases negative ions into the air.

These negative ions find particles in the air with positive charges and neutralize them. Dirt, pollen, dust, and allergens all have positive charges that keep them suspended in the air. Once they’re neutralized, they won’t stay airborne. You’ll be able to vacuum or sweep everything away and remove these offending particles from your home or office to further improve the indoor air quality.

2. Beeswax Candles

If you burn candles, you likely pick some of your favorite scents from a local candle shop. You may even like to make your own unique-smelling candles. Either way, the candles you burn can worsen your air quality while improving how your interior smells.

Most candles are made from waxes that release petroleum byproducts. Those byproducts, including benzene and toluene, make your air much more polluted.

Instead, burn candles made from beeswax. This kind of wax burns without producing scents or smoke, and it also releases negative ions into the air. As an added plus, beeswax candles burn at a much slower rate, so one candle can last a lot longer than other candle types.

If you do make your own candles, use pure beeswax to form them. If you prefer to have some kind of scent in your home, you can add natural oils like lavender, citrus, or eucalyptus. Not only will you have a natural, succulent candle, but you’ll also further combat allergies as the candle burns.

3. Bamboo Charcoal

Another natural way to purify your air is to use activated charcoals, specifically bamboo charcoal. The product is incredibly porous, so it can absorb many kinds of pollutants and odors in the air. Additionally, you can use bamboo charcoal in water.

Essentially, bamboo is heated to a certain temperature. The heat chars the bamboo without eliminating its oxygen supply. What’s left behind is a material that attracts moisture, pollutants, debris, and microbes in the air and causes these particles to cling to it. Without these particles in the air, you air quality improves.

4. Plant Air Purifiers

As we noted in our previous blog, plants do a wonderful job of purifying air. However, you’d likely have to incorporate dozens of plants into your home or office space for them to clean your air effectively.

A plant air purifier, on the other hand, uses hydrocultured house plants to clean air. The plants are grown without soil in a small container that resembles a plain and mostly empty terrarium. A fan in the purifier pulls air from your interior into the device. The air then circulates through it, getting cleaned in the process. The purified air is then expelled from another side of the device.  

5. HEPA Filters

Your home’s HVAC system uses filters to keep the air quality as high as possible. Sometimes, though, the filters can be so dirty that dust and debris still move through your vents and pollutes your air.

While you can use regular filters to keep pollutants out of your air, high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters are mechanical filters made of a fine mesh. The air is pushed through the mesh while dust, mites, dander, pollen, and other particulates get trapped in the filter.

Just remember to change the filters every three months (or sooner if you have pets), to keep the system working properly.

The Most Effective Solution

While using these natural methods to purify your air can be effective, the best and most powerful solution is to invest in air quality appliances. These devices can quickly and more thoroughly remove toxins, allergens, and microbes in the air, providing you with much cleaner air to breathe.

For example, air cleaners, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, and UV germicide lamps all function to create cleaner, more breathable air indoors. If you need help deciding which device best works for your space and your budget, call Getzchman Heating and Air Conditioning.

We’ll work with you to discover your needs and find an appliance that works perfectly for your specific situation. We can also assist you with any other HVAC issues that may contribute to poor indoor air quality.