Although many people assume that air quality depends on how it smells, this is not a reliable way of measuring air quality. Therefore, it is essential to work towards making your house feel fresh, irrespective of whether you can smell the air or not. Some of the common sources of bad smells in a house include leftover food, dirty laundry, dust, and stagnant air. The following tips can help you freshen a stuffy room and improving its air quality.
Identify the Odour
When a person notices some unpleasant smell in their house, they may be tempted to cover the odour using an air freshener or candle. However, this is just a short-term solution and can affect someone’s health, since air fresheners or candles release dangerous VOCs in the air. Besides, the foul smell will finally overpower any effort to cover it up. Therefore, you should identify the cause of the odour and eliminate it if you want to make the room smell fresh. You could also consider using a whole house air freshener.
Dust the Room
Dust is usually a mixture of outdoor and indoor particles originating from pet and pollen dander, dead skin, and insect droppings. It naturally occurs inside a house, and it can also originate from outside. Although dust may seem like a minor issue, its different components can lead to allergy symptoms. Therefore, it is essential to prioritize dusting regardless of whether you are allergic or not.
Clean the Floors
Once dusting is complete, the next step should be to clean the floors since they contact everything entering the room. If the floor is made of hardwood, it is quite easy to clean it up using a mop. However, this is different in carpeted rooms. You should avoid using a dry mop or sweeping since this stirs dust and other elements back into the air.
Open the Windows
Typically, a home has many pollutants cramped in a small area. Despite the thinking of some people, outdoor air may be healthier than the air inside your house. Opening windows enables fresh air to break up the stagnant air that traps unpleasant smells in a room. If you reside in a location with high smog levels or if you are allergic to pollen, consider checking the air quality report before opening the windows.
Wash your Clothing and Sheets
Since a person spends a significant amount of time on their bedsheets, washing the sheets at least once weekly is recommended. Besides, it would help if you also emptied the laundry hamper often, since the gases emitted when bacteria break down the sweat and oil left behind the clothing causes them to release an unpleasant smell. You should also avoid placing excessively sweaty clothing in the laundry.
Switch on a Dehumidifier
Moisture can be an issue in your effort to try to freshen a room. Furthermore, damp surfaces and moist air are prime habitats for mildew and mould. Based on the climate of your location, it can be challenging to prevent the house from becoming too humid. Therefore, you should consider investing in a dehumidifier since humid air can attract pollutants and unpleasant smells.
Using an Internal Air Purifier
Internal air purifiers trap and destroy things found around a person’s residence. Therefore, eliminating internal air pollutants helps in removing some foul smell sources. When searching for an indoor air purifier, consider selecting the one that breaks down pollutants such as airborne chemicals and mould spores. Additionally, you can also use natural odour absorbers such as baking soda to trap lingering odours in the room. However, replacing them would often help, since they soak up the particles that cause the bad smells.
Every person wishes to live in an environment with fresh and quality air. However, if you have issues with the air quality in your house, consider applying the above tips to freshen a stuffy room.
