Even after just a few days, being cooped up indoors can be tiresome. If you’re cooped up inside and sharing space with other people or your furry friend, keeping your house smelling fresh can be hard. If you have to be inside most or all of the time, anything you can do to improve the quality of the air in your home adds to your comfort and makes the air you breathe healthier.
Fortunately, there are many tools that clean and improve household indoor air quality, including air purifiers, humidifiers with diffusers, pet odor removers, and even live indoor plants.
Today’s Top Picks:
- SPT Ultrasonic 0.6 Gal. Cool Mist Humidifier — $39
- SPT Ultrasonic Humidifier — $56
- Hamilton Beach True Air Allergen Reducer 140 Sq. Ft. Air Purifier — $60
- Honeywell Home 155 Sq. Ft. Air Purifier — $140
- Holmes True HEPA Allergen Remover 310 Sq. Ft. Air Purifier — $215
- GermGuardian 338 Sq. Ft Console Air Purifier — $230
- Honeywell Home 465 Sq. Ft. Air Purifier — $250
- Winix Ultimate Pet True HEPA Air Purifier, 300 sq. ft. — $275
- Dyson 290 Sq. Ft. Personal Air Purifier and Fan — $280, was $350
- Dyson 172 Sq. Ft. Air Purifier and Fan — $400
- Dyson Hot & Cool Link 400 Sq. Ft. Air Purifier — $550, was $600
Best home air cleansing tools:
Tips for cleaner air at home:
In addition to the tech tools mentioned above that help cleanse indoor air, there are other low and non-techichal ways you can live in cleaner, healthier air.
- Add indoor plants: While being easy on the eyes, indoor greenery can reduce carbon dioxide in the air. Specific plant species can also reduce airborne chemicals.
- Let fresh air in: Growing up in northern New England; we always looked forward to the day in spring when we could open the windows and let in the fresh air. Stagnant indoor air can smell bad, feel bad, and make you feel overly tired.
- Avoid harsh cleaning chemicals: Choose your home cleaning supplies carefully. Some materials are excellent cleaners but not so good for humans’ breathing. Check the labels.
- Cooking odors — don’t burn your food: Even perfectly cooked food can produce lingering odors, but the smell of burnt food or smokey cooking oil can last a long time.
- Leave your shoes by the door: Let’s not even think about the number and variety of chemicals, dirt, debris, and organic matter we bring into our homes on our shoes. If we routinely leave our footwear by the door (preferably in the garage, all that nastiness stays outside.
- Humidity control: If indoor air is too dry, your eyes may itch, and your throat and nasal passages can get sore and vulnerable. If the air is too humid, mold and mildew proliferate. You don’t need a humidifier to add moisture, just put a few moist towels around the house. Fans, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, and sometimes the open window trick can help reduce humidity.
- Dust your dust: Keeping your home vacuumed, dusted, and clean overall lessens the buildup of unpleasant or even harmful substances, many of which release unwelcome molecules into the air.
- Minimize pet dander and hair: Furbabies are lovely in many ways, but even non-shedding dogs drop hair in your home — just like people do. If you can keep your pets groomed and clean the floors, mainly but also upholstered furniture, you can cut down on allergens and that less-than-pleasant doggy smell.
- Let your vacuum cleaners help with air-cleansing: Many vacuum cleaners, including robots, canisters, sticks, and upright styles, are available with HEPA air filtration. Air-purifying vacuums often cost a bit more than models without filtration, but the extra expense pays back with cleaner air. Some pet vacuums are particularly good at picking up dog and cat hair.
