Spring Cleaning - Indoor Air Quality

The birds are singing, the trees are budding and the flowers are blooming. Spring is here, and with it, spring cleaning. Whether you love it, hate it, or have a bittersweet relationship with it, you need to take several things into consideration when deep cleaning your home.

A task that is often overlooked is checking and being aware of the indoor air quality. Many homes are contaminated with indoor pollutants that could be dangerous, and comes in many forms.

Carbon monoxide is the most dangerous indoor pollutant, because it goes undetected due to the fact that it is odorless. The two main sources of carbon monoxide inside the home are the gas furnace heat exchanger and gas hot water heater.

Mold is another big concern. To keep homes safe from mold it is important to keep the humidity level below 60 percent because mold doesn't grow well at lower humidity levels. If you discover mold, it is important to remedy the source of the moisture in addition to the clean-up and disinfection.

Because of the dangers linked to lead and asbestos, which is commonly found in old homes, be advised that special precautions should be taken. Wear protective clothing and a respirator.

Other forms of indoor pollution include secondhand tobacco smoke, radon, chemical indoor pollutants such as cleaning products, lead, and biological pollutants such as dust mites, molds, mildew, pet hair and dander.

The thought of cleaning up the pollutants may seem daunting, but homeowners can take simple measures to keep the air quality more breathable. First, keep the indoor humidity level between 40 and 60 percent. An inexpensive temperature and humidity gauge can be purchased at hardware stores.

Second have the air conditioner and the heater serviced once a year by a professional, and be sure the air conditioner has a filtering system.

Other recommendations are keeping pets outside, or at least out of the bedroom.

The most important process a homeowner can take to reduce indoor pollution is to identify the pollutants, control the source, and remedy or mitigate.