How Cleaner Air Can Lead to Better Health for Your Family

As a mom, you take all the right steps to keep your kids from getting sick. You make them eat their veggies, take them to appointments, and keep them warm at night. But what if the air in your home is what’s really affecting their health? From figuring out if you have an air problem to taking steps to clean it, here’s what you need to know about the air inside your home and protecting your family’s health.

Know How Your Home Affects Your Health

When you think of air pollution, you may picture smoggy cities. But the truth is, the air inside your home can actually be just as dirty. In fact, indoor air pollution is fairly common inside of homes and can have a detrimental effect on the health of your family. This pollution may be the result of dust mites, carbon monoxide, or other allergens. Some signs that the air quality inside your home is impacting your family’s health include a hoarse voice, persistent coughing, and wheezing.

If you, your partner, or your children display these symptoms, it’s important to seek medical care and take steps to manage asthma, allergies, or other conditions. Purifying your air is a good first step in reducing the impact indoor pollutants have on your health, but there are other steps you will want to take as well.

Make Changes to Improve Your Air

Looking into an air purifier may protect your family from common indoor pollutants. But what other steps can you take to keep your children from getting sick? If you do not currently have any indoor plants, consider looking around for some air-cleaning options. Adding this touch of green is a natural way to produce more clean air inside your home, and plants can even have a calming effect.

If you want to add some relaxing scents to your rooms, ditch the air fresheners and candles and use essential oils or an electric diffuser to rid yourself of foul odours without sacrificing the air quality in your home.

Keep Allergens From Making You Sick

If you and your kids are constantly battling symptoms of allergies, then your air quality could be to blame. Allergens are another common form of indoor pollution, so you should be sure that your air improvement plan includes steps to reduce allergens around your home.

Try closing your windows and using your air conditioner, to keep pollen from making its way inside. You should also take extra care to keep yourself from tracking that pollen and other allergens into your house and making your kids sick.

Change your clothes as soon as you step inside, especially during high-pollen seasons, and choose entryway rugs that won’t trap dirt and pollen. Regular cleaning is also key to preventing allergy symptoms, so make a cleaning schedule that includes a weekly dusting.

Watch Out for Mold Inside Your Home

One of the most dangerous pollutants is also one that you may not even know is there. Mold can hide inside your home in so many different areas, and mold can make your family very sick.

Many times, you may notice moisture or water damage before you even suspect a mold problem, but if you spot any visual evidence of mold, you should consider getting an inspection. Often, mold is most prevalent in spaces you may miss, like attics, crawl spaces, and in areas around the bathroom and kitchen. If you do find mold, there are steps you can take to get rid of it.

If you simply have a mildew or a mild mold issue, you should be able to use products like bleach and vinegar to get it off of surfaces and fabrics. More serious infestations may require a professional since mold can be highly toxic when not properly handled.

There is so much you can’t control when it comes to your family’s health. The air inside your home, however, isn’t one of them. You can make small changes to make the air you breathe cleaner, fresher, and safer for your children. So start taking better care of your family’s health by taking care of your air quality.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

About Our Guest Contributor

Amanda Henderson is a preschool teacher and a mom to two wonderful, active boys.

She enjoys writing in her free time and recently decided to create Safechildren so that she would have a place to share her thoughts and favorite resources on parenting and child safety.

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