Ah, February 14th, Valentine's Day: Love is in the air! But that's not all: the indoor air of most homes is two to five times more polluted than the outdoor air! Here's a breakdown of typical pollutants found in a home: EPA: Learn About Indoor Air Pollutants. So how do you improve the air you breathe?
Obviously, removing the sources (or reducing them as much as possible) is your best bet. Several people buy products to help "clean" the air, like filters for your furnace and air purifiers. Filters will help, especially if they are replaced on a regular basis. However, a higher "MERV" rating is not always better! A MERV rating of around 8 seems sufficient for most homes, while a MERV 13 is appropriate for those suffering from asthma or allergies. The latter is also considered almost as effective as a HEPA filter, and those with a higher rating will significantly reduce air flow to your duct system without much difference in the particles they are able to filter out.
Air purifiers are not meant to completely rid your air of all particles or pollutants. However, they can be helpful if you've taken steps to reduce the pollution in your home's air and still aren't as comfortable as you like. Wikipedia has a great article about Air Purifiers that we would suggest reading if this is something you are considering.
Did you know plants can clean your air? Not only do they tend to remove some harmful pollutants that can frequently be found in homes, but they also add fresh oxygen! Be careful though- too many plants or watering them too frequently can increase the moisture and humidity in your home, which can have adverse affects on your home's air.
The biggest thing we recommend in improving your air quality (and what we know the most about!) is monitoring and/or improving building ventilation and air flow. It is actually important for your house to be a little leaky! It encourages a small but important exchange of indoor and outdoor air, which can disperse the pollutants that can otherwise concentrate within the walls of your home. I know- you're thinking "But what about energy efficiency?!" If you've ever had a professional energy audit done, the technician probably used a blower door. This tool measures the amount of air that is "exchanged" between the walls of your home (it is actually called the air exchange rate). This helps us make improvement recommendations to maximize your energy savings without making your home too tight and risking a higher concentration of indoor pollutants! Besides "infiltration," natural ventilation (open doors and windows) and mechanical ventilation (exhaust fans) are also important aspects to lowering the concentration of pollutants in your home.
Learn more about Indoor Air Quality.
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