Did you just move into your new home, or you’re at work and the place just doesn’t feel and smell right, or maybe you’ve thought it was a particularly bad cold and flu season, or are things more serious? Either way, I am glad you’re here at Mitey Fresh.
I created this page to highlight must see articles and info for new indoor air quality owners. If you’re a quality air novice, I recommend you read through to the end of the page before deciding how to manage your air.
The best thing you can do for your home or office is to be well educated. Being knowledgeable about quality air rarely has problems, and if you do, you know how to solve them.
Getting to Know Your Indoor Air
Before I air information (yes, pun intended), you need to know what you’re up against. You need to understand some basic science. For instance, the words ‘air exchange’ is used as described, that is the ‘exchange of air’, and it’s vital that you understand this.
Imagine when you visit the doctor and he asks you “what are your symptoms, how have you been managing them?” You’d probably recite the symptoms one after the other – it’s so easy, point them out, describe what you see and tell how you feel – and of course you’d list what the symptoms were and how you addressed them.
So why do so few people feel and see and describe what is circulating in their indoor air, and rarely address it?
Mainly because you’ve not asked enough questions. If you were informed, getting the right indoor air and solving issues with the quality would be a lot easier. Just take some time to get to know your indoor air.
HOW TO
The Nature of Indoor Air
We open up the nature of indoor air, including the filter system and the air for both a residential and a commercial property.
1. Air Exchange
There are 3 fundamentals of indoor air quality: Circulation or air exchange, Cleaning and pollutants and Comfort and biology – in that order! Air exchange is often overlooked, but is the most important area of indoor air quality. A room or a building that has good circulation and air exchange will rarely have issues like odours and stuffiness, poor health and productivity.
HOW TO
The Importance of Indoor Air Circulation
Proper indoor air circulation and exchange allows the space to filter and clean air. It helps spread fresh air in the room, like stirring milk in your coffee.
One of the most popular questions I’m asked is how wide should I open my windows.
My answer: VERY WIDE!
However, ventilating may just not be enough, or in some homes and offices, non-existent. So here’s a guide I put together to help figure out how you can ventilate for the best air exchange possible.
HOW TO
How Long Should I Ventilate Each Day?
Wondering how long to ventilate each day? The best answer is 24 hours a day. However, that would be too inconvenient for many occupants and an air purifier is your only option. So here’s a better answer …
2. Cleaning
Biologically speaking, air circulation is cleaning. It’s the natural part of keeping spaces clean whether inside or outside. However, your space needs some good old fashioned know how and elbow grease from you. A room with good air circulation will need this less often, but you should do your part to open windows, dust, vacuum, wash on a weekly basis, keep introduced pollutants at a minimum – just like mum and grandma did.
HOW TO
How to Clean Indoor Air
Want to learn how to clean indoor air in a room? You wouldn’t neglect brushing your teeth and rinsing your mouth, so don’t neglect your indoors. Follow along with these easy steps to successfully freshen your indoors and spend less time dusting and more time living !
3. Comfort
Last, but not least is comfort. This is the area of indoor air care that most people are unaware of, but you should. It’s actually AWESOME! There are a few key biology things you need to concern yourself about, and the rest is natural.
Before you go adding any assortment of furnishings, cleaning and personal care products that the marketing dollar and media machines told you to do, you need to feel, smell and look at your own indoor air. Testing your air is something you should do before adding any air purifiers to the space at all. It’s very easy and you can even do it any time. Check out the following guide.
HOW TO
How to test indoor air accurately
It’s important to learn how to test indoor air quality and do it at least once a week to make sure the air you breathe is pleasant, and to keep your health level in check.
Once you know what your ventilation, heating and cooling and materials are, you can start to take away or add materials or products and assessing how it affects the air and consideration for the people who are in this space.
This guide is the ultimate resource when it comes to understanding basic indoor air biology
HOW TO
Basic Indoor Air Science 101
Practicing proper indoor air science is important and easy. This article provides you everything you need to keep your indoor air clean and fresh.
How To Create An Indoor Air Quality Maintenance Schedule
After reading and watching the guides, you should have the confidence to take care of your indoor air without a worry. I know that throughout time with the indoor air you’ll have some questions, and that’s why I built this page. I’d like to make indoor air care easy, breathable and livable.
I created a handy and spiffy planner that highlights key areas of indoor air care. Feel free to print or bookmark on your web browser or add to your desktop calendar.
Download:
Download This Quality Indoor Air Care Planner For Free
Print this handy indoor air care calendar, slip into a plastic sleeve or laminate and put on your fridge so the whole family can help you take care of the indoors this year.
If you want to make life easier, I cannot recommend an air purifier highly enough. I grew up without one because we were able to open windows and doors and did not experience the same issues building occupants do today. We woke up every morning with the home fully refreshed and so were we, I wish we live like that once again. Everyone likes being in a clean, fresh space, and air purifiers can help.
tips:
The Best Air Purifier Tips
When it comes to drying the air in your space, the best and most efficient tool in your strategy is to open windows, doors, blinds and ventilate, ventilate, ventilate! However, ventilating may just not be enough. Dehumidifiers dry the moisture and air purifiers clean up the contaminants in the air.
Where To Next?
I believe you should spend less time figuring out what to do (that is my job) and more time breathing easier, living easier, and I also see it’s a big picture that needs mastery.
As a Building Biologist, I acquired knowledge of adverse health effects and recommend effective strategies to reduce occupants’ exposure by eliminating and controlling as many sources of pollutants as possible.
I encourage you to have conversations about Quality Indoor Air and Air Purification, ask questions on the Mitey Fresh Facebook page, other people may well be wondering the same thing, and I will do my best to answer them there. Or please call me directly on the land line 02 9986 3432.
Towards healthier living, Carol Parr ♥
References
Department of the Environment and Energy. 2018. Indoor air – Home Page. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.environment.gov.au/protection/air-quality/indoor-air. [Accessed 10 October, 2018]
US Environmental Protection Agency, 2015 Biological Pollutants’ Impact on Indoor Air Quality, (Online). Available: https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/biological-pollutants-impact-indoor-air-quality [June 3, 2016]
Indoor Air 2004. On the History of Indoor Air Quality and Health, 2004; 14 (Suppl 7); 51-58 (Online). Available: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0668.2004.00273.x/full [June 22, 2016]
Occupational Safety & Health Administration, n.d, Indoor Air Quality Investigation (Online). Available: https://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/otm_iii/otm_iii_2.html [20 May, 2016]
