Have you noticed the air in your home starting to feel stale or heavy during the summer months? This is often a sign of poor indoor air quality and can be harmful to your overall health.
According to studies by the EPA and Health Canada, some common pollutants tend to have higher levels indoors than outdoors, sometimes ranging from 2 to 5 times more. This is particularly the case in summer, when indoor air feels worse because many people close up and seal off their homes to maximize their air conditioning.
“Air” quality is affected by a lot more than just the oxygen itself. Dust, pet dander, humidity, pollen, grease, and more can change a home’s air. Let’s take a closer look at indoor air quality, what it means, and how it can be affected by a summer deep clean.
Why Indoor Air Quality Gets Worse in the Summer
As a child, did you ever open a window in your home or roll down the window in a car, only to be told that you needed to roll it back up because “I’m not paying to cool the outside?”
Now that we have become the adults who aren’t paying to cool outside, most of the time we keep all the windows closed while the air conditioning is on. It makes sense, but unfortunately, the consequence is that dust, odours, pet dander, and bad smells get trapped inside the home.
Pollen can be tracked into homes on hair, clothing, shoes, and pets, which then circulate throughout the home and cause allergies. Dust that collects on carpets, vents, blinds, furniture, and baseboards will also circulate, while the high summer humidity makes those trapped smells and musty areas much more noticeable, too.
How Indoor Pollutants Get Into Your Home’s Air
Indoor pollutants have a variety of causes and can end up in your home’s air in several ways. Some enter from outside through people, pets, and entryways, then settle throughout the home.
Sometimes they can originate from inside the home, too. Cooking a meal (especially with aerosol sprays like popular cooking oils), showers, laundry, cleaning products and chemicals, or even lighting a candle can also produce odours and particles.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from household products, furniture, paint, flooring, and air fresheners can also reduce your home’s air quality. Poor ventilation is often to blame, as these pollutants will linger inside instead of being diluted, filtered, or removed when air recirculates.
Areas in the Home Where Air Pollutants Hide
Air pollutants are often very good at hiding, which makes them difficult to remove. Rugs and carpets can trap all kinds of dirt and debris, while upholstery makes a great home for crumbs, hair, allergens, and odours, too.
On mattresses and bedding, you might find dead skin cells, sweat, dust, and (if you enjoy the occasional snack or meal in bed) micro pieces of food. Blinds, window sills, curtains, and baseboards are prone to collecting dust. Bathrooms, vents, kitchens, pet areas, and other areas with water can retain moisture, grease, and residue too.
How a Summer Deep Cleaning Can Help
A summer deep clean is a great way to make sure the air inside your home is fresh and clean, which will protect your health instead of jeopardizing it. It’s designed to target hidden buildup that can easily be overlooked during a standard cleaning.
It can clear out dust from high, low, and hidden areas that you might not regularly think to clean. It also refreshes soft surfaces like rugs, carpets, and upholstery that make excellent hiding places for small contaminants.
Perhaps most importantly, it reduces stale odours that might be found in bathrooms, kitchens, and other high-use, high-risk areas. With a summer deep clean, your home will feel lighter, cleaner, and fresher in the summer, making sure you feel good and can enjoy fresh, clean air year-round.
How to Reduce Indoor Air Pollutants Between Deep Cleans
The first step to reducing potential air pollutants is to make sure that your home’s HVAC system has a good filter. Ideally, you’ll want at least a MERV-8 or higher filter to make sure you’re getting a high level of filtration.
You’ll also want to run the range hood when cooking to prevent odours and cooking-related particles from settling in vents, behind appliances, and other hard-to-reach places. Carpets, rugs, and upholstery should be vacuumed on at least a weekly basis, depending on how much traffic they receive.
Pollen counts are at their lowest between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., which means this is the best time to open up some windows and let some fresh air circulate without introducing too many potential allergens. You’ll also want to check your indoor humidity levels and keep them between 30% and 50% when possible.
Signs Your Home May Need a Professional Deep Clean
Sometimes, a DIY clean might not be enough, which means you should consider calling the professionals. If you find that your home starts to feel dusty too soon after you’ve just cleaned or that rooms feel musty, stale, or heavy, for example, that’s a great time to have the professionals come in.
It’s also a good idea if your furniture or carpets start admitting odours or if you or your family start to notice any allergy-like symptoms that feel worse when you’re indoors.
If bathrooms, entryways, kitchens, and pet areas start developing noticeable buildup and is getting out of control, this is another great time to schedule a professional deep clean as well.
This isn’t to suggest that you aren’t capable of cleaning your own home, of course. The professionals are simply cleaning experts who have access to more sophisticated tools and advanced techniques that can help improve your home’s cleanliness. They’re here to help you out and make your life easier, not to cast judgment on your cleaning abilities.
A Cleaner Home Starts With Cleaner Air
Poor indoor air quality affects your home in more ways than you might expect. Pollen, moisture, odours, dust, and residue can travel all through the home. On the other hand, if the air in your home doesn’t circulate enough, these can be trapped in carpets, rugs, upholstery, or other locations.
These are often more pronounced during the summertime when windows remain closed, and air conditioning works overtime to keep everything cool inside the home. A good summer deep clean will make your home look beautiful while also making sure the health of you and your family isn’t jeopardized by stale, polluted air.
Book a Summer Deep Clean With UrbanMop
Have you noticed the air in your home is getting stale and heavy? UrbanMop can help make your home feel cleaner, fresher, and more comfortable with professional home cleaning services that target the areas regular cleaning misses. We remove the dust and buildup that can make your home feel stale during the summer.
Book a summer deep clean with UrbanMop and enjoy a cleaner, healthier home from top to bottom.