Spring Cleaning: Focus on Your Air Quality

Spring is in the air! As warm weather encourages you to bring your home out of hibernation, take the time to deep clean areas you usually ignore. Spring cleaning not only makes your home look nice, but it also improves indoor air quality for less sneezing, sniffling, and itching as allergy season gets underway. Make sure these tasks are on your spring cleaning checklist for better air quality this season.

Dust Ceiling Fan Blades

You probably haven’t run the ceiling fan since late last summer. In the intervening months, it has likely gathered plenty of dust. To prevent this allergen from swirling around your living room when you turn on the fan for the first time this season, get up there with an electrostatic duster and clean the top of each blade. You’ll be glad you did.

Clean Air Registers

The grates that cover your supply and return registers can become gunked up with cobwebs, dust, and other debris. Use the brush attachment on your vacuum to clean every air register in your home. This helps prevent dust and allergens from blowing into the room every time your air conditioner runs.

If you remove any grates and notice that debris has also built up inside the ductwork, consider scheduling duct cleaning this spring. This task doesn’t necessarily need to take place every year, but clean, unclogged ducts promote better indoor air quality and more efficient A/C operation than gunky, grimy ducts.

Replace the Air Filter

If you have a regular media air filter, you should replace it at least every two to three months. If you have a box-type filter, you only need to clean or change it once a year. Either way, spring is a great time to replace the air filter for a fresh start, now that you’ll be counting on your air conditioner for indoor comfort over the next few months.

Clean up Bathroom Mold

While your home was closed up tightly all winter, mold had a chance to take hold. Damp places, including the bathroom and basement, are particularly susceptible areas for mold growth. Kill existing mold with a solution of water and hydrogen peroxide. This is just as effective but safer than using bleach. Then, prevent future bathroom mold growth by running the exhaust fan when you shower and mopping up damp surfaces immediately.

Vacuum Hard-to-Reach Places

Spring cleaning is all about going above and beyond your regular chores to make your home cleaner than it’s been in months. Take the time to move furniture so you can vacuum dust bunnies out from underneath them. You should also vacuum drapes and blinds with the brush attachment to eliminate accumulated dust and dirt.

Clean the Carpet

Rugs and carpets are havens for dust mites, a common allergy trigger. Vacuuming is a good first step to make sure these microscopic critters know they have nowhere to hide. During your annual deep cleaning, hang rugs on an outdoor clothesline and beat them to air them out and eliminate hard-to-reach allergens.

This is also the time to spot clean wall-to-wall carpeting for a fresh, clean look. For a more thorough job, consider hiring a professional carpet cleaner. Steam cleaning extends deeper into the carpet fibers where vacuuming can’t reach. Then, make weekly vacuuming a priority, so your carpet contributes less to your allergy symptoms in the coming months.

Let Aire Serve® Help Clean Up Your Indoor Air Quality

We offer HVAC-related spring cleaning services, including duct cleaning and air filter replacement. To learn more indoor air quality tips, or to schedule services, please contact Aire Serv today.

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