Have Asthma? 4 Ways to Improve the Air Quality in Your Home

For those that have asthma, it is important to reduce the triggers that aggravate it as much as possible. The best place to start is with the home.

The home, where asthmatics spend the most time, may have more asthma triggers than you realize.

Below you will find four ways to improve the air quality in your home to make life easier, and healthier, for both asthmatics and non-asthmatics alike.

Tobacco Smoke

While it is known that tobacco smoke is not healthy -- for anyone -- secondhand smoke can be a real problem for asthmatics. If there was cigarette smoke in the house prior to one (or more) smoking in the home, you may have to deep clean the entire structure to rid walls, fabric, and more of the smells that can trigger asthma symptoms.

Pets

Pet hair, especially dander, can trigger asthma symptoms even if you aren’t allergic to dogs or cats specifically. You can reduce the effect that pets have on asthmatics by keeping pets out of bedrooms completely, as well as off furniture where the dander can gather. Regular dusting and vacuuming can also help you pick up the allergens. Using an air purifying system can be of great help. However, if pets trigger the asthma symptoms too much, the best way to battle this culprit may be to re-home the pet or pets.

Cleaning Products

Many cleaning products have strong odors, which not only trigger asthma symptoms but can also be very damaging to the already fragile respiratory system. Chemicals in the air can be strong and also linger and travel to adjoining rooms. This forces the asthmatic to move to another room, farther from the source of the cleaning products or even leave the house altogether. There are odorless cleaning products available. The other option is to do most of your cleaning activity when the asthmatic is not home. Even if you have to alter the methods, cleaning the home is vital to remove asthma triggers.

Duct Cleaning

Obviously, cleaning is important, as mentioned in the above section. But, in addition to regular cleaning of everyday surfaces, you’ll want to make sure those unseen places are clean. Some are havens for dust, dirt, allergens, and other triggers for those who have asthma. One such place is your air ducts. Duct cleaning is the best way to remove a ton of air pollutants from your home and the best way to make sure that it is done thoroughly is by hiring a professional who offers duct cleaning services.

Whether through small changes to your home habits or big investments such as duct cleaning, you can improve the air quality of your home. By doing so, those who have asthma will have a much better quality of life at home. Not only does better air quality help asthmatics, but it helps everyone else breathing that air.