Whether you’re renting or owning your home, it’s important to take steps to improve the air quality in your home. Indoor air pollution is a serious threat to both health and the environment, but it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming task.

With some simple steps and equipment, you can test your indoor air quality and develop a plan for improving it!

The benefits of a greener home

A greener home is healthier, safer, and more comfortable. When you live in a well-maintained home with low maintenance needs, it can be easier to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

In addition to being cost-effective on your energy bill and reducing your carbon footprint, greening your home also improves indoor air quality by removing dust particles from the air through regular vacuuming or mopping floors.

Additionally, there are many benefits associated with living in an environment where plants thrive: reduced allergy symptoms among children; increased comfort during warm weather months, decreased risk of asthma attacks due to cleaner indoor air quality (as well as improved ventilation), improved sleep patterns due to reduced noise levels within the walls of homes; even less stress because we’re spending more time outdoors than indoors!

How to test your air quality

If you want to know how your home’s air quality compares with the rest of the world, there are several ways to do so. One way is by using a VOC testing kit. These kits contain specific chemicals that will detect VOCs in your home and office.

They can also be used at restaurants, schools, and other public places where people congregate together regularly.

The best part about this method is that it doesn’t cost much money at all, you can pick up an inexpensive one for around $10 or less! If you have access to an outdoor area outside your home (such as a balcony), another option would be taking readings there instead, however, this may not provide accurate information because some chemicals dissipate quickly over distance while others remain present indefinitely no matter where they’re located within our bodies.

What causes the poor air quality in the home

The home is a microcosm of the world, so it’s no surprise that indoor air quality can be affected by pollutants outside your walls. One of the most common pollutants in houses is VOCs or volatile organic compounds.

These include chemicals such as formaldehyde and benzene, both of which can cause symptoms like headaches, nausea, and dizziness if you’re exposed to high levels for a long period.

Another culprit is dust mites (which contribute to allergies), mold spores (which cause asthma attacks), and pollen from plants growing indoors or outdoors on windowsills near heating vents.

Pet dander also contributes to poor indoor air quality because it contains its own special set of allergens that may not be present in humans but still affect us. After all, our bodies recognize them as invaders!

Places to consider testing

• Kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room. These are the places where you spend most of your time in your home, so it’s important to test for air quality. If you don’t have an air quality monitor at this point, consider buying one before testing so that you can get started right away!
• Basement, attic, and garage. The same goes for these areas, they’re often overlooked when people think about where they should be testing for VOCs but they’re still important because they trap dust mites as well as fumes from paints or cleaning products that make their way into your indoor environment (and home).
• Bedroom/living room/dining room combo areas all around the house: These rooms tend to be warmer than others due to lots of windows opening into them, therefore they’ll tend toward higher levels of VOCs if left unventilated properly (which is why we recommend using fans).

Levels of VOCs you should know

Do you ever wonder if the paint on your walls is safe for children? Or has a new cleaning product made it into your house, and now all of the dust in it causes a reaction in those with allergies or asthma?

Many chemicals can be found in products and homes, but one of the most common ones is Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). These are chemicals that are emitted from certain products when they’re used.

For example, paints have VOCs because they contain oils and solvents, so they break down over time, cleaners also have VOCs because they contain surfactants like soap and detergent cleansers, and furniture might release some formaldehyde if it’s not treated properly before being put into storage at home or office space!

DIY efforts to improve your indoor air

You can also make your home a healthier place to live by making small changes. Most of these will require some time and effort, but the benefits are more than worth it.

• Use natural cleaning products instead of harsh chemicals.
• Use a HEPA filter for your air purifier, which filters out particulate matter like dust mites and pollen. This is especially important if you have asthma or allergies because even small particles trapped in the air can trigger an allergic reaction in sensitive individuals.
• Install a humidifier or dehumidifier if necessary, both devices help maintain humidity levels within your home by adding moisture back into the air after it has been removed through heating or cooling systems (depending on where they’re located). This can help prevent dry skin issues caused by cold temperatures as well as other illnesses such as coughs etcetera.

You can use VOC testing kits to improve your indoor air quality

VOCs are volatile organic compounds, which means they evaporate easily. They’re also known to cause health problems, especially if you breathe them in regularly.

A VOC testing kit can help you identify the most harmful VOCs in your home and get rid of them before they build up over time.

In addition to being able to detect the presence of these chemicals from outside sources (like paints), these kits can also detect those inside the house by analyzing the air in each room individually, it’s like an air quality test at home!

This allows homeowners with asthma or other respiratory issues to make sure their indoor environments aren’t damaging their health overall by checking for potential triggers before getting sicker than ever before!

Conclusion

We hope this article has given you some insight into the importance of indoor air quality and how to test it.

If you’re ready to get started on your home improvement project, be sure to take advantage of our free air quality testing kit!