Green Spring Cleaning Tips: Freshening Up

Spring is here, and it's time to chase the musty, dusty odors out with the winter chill. After months of closed windows and hastily shut doors, you may feel like your house is suffocating you…and maybe it is. The EPA reports that the quality of indoor air can be far more toxic than outdoor air. Here are a few tips and tricks to freshen up your home and make it more breathable.

1. Open up! Take advantage of the beautiful weather by opening windows to refreshing cross-breezes and expel airborne toxins at the same time. Your house is filled with potential allergens and toxins. Many products produce gases that can build up in a well-insulated home, reducing the breathable oxygen at the same time. Feeling a little more tired than usual? Poor air quality could be the culprit.

2. Green up! Adding greenery to your home is not only cheery, it's great for your health. Plants filter toxins and return clean, breathable air. Back in the ‘80s, NASA studied the air cleaning abilities of plants because eventually we'll all move to Mars, live in airtight glass domes, and wear matching silver jumpsuits. When that day comes, we want to be prepared. Here's the list of most efficient air-cleaning plants compiled by NASA:

§ English ivy
§ Spider plant
§ Golden pothos
§ Peace lily
§ Chinese evergreen
§ Bamboo or reed palm
§ Snake plant
§ Philodendron (heartleaf, elephant ear or selloum)
§ Dracaena (red-edged, cornstalk, Janet Craig, or Warneck)
§ Ficus or weeping fig

NASA also discovered that dirt helps with the filtration system, so for best results, plant in large pots and trim the bottom leaves, leaving the soil exposed.

3. Dust up! Once the windows are open and the sun is streaming in, you'll be able to see all the dirt you missed during the winter. Take a close look at the walls and ceiling, especially around ceiling fans and air intakes. Grab a broom and dust the fans and the surrounding dust-catchers, and you get instantly fresher air. Just be sure to follow with a thorough vacuuming using a HEPA filter or bag to get rid of that particular layer of dust for good. (Or may we suggest hiring our friendly cleaning technicians here at EcoMaids to do the job for you with a deep clean?)

4. Spruce up! If it's time to repaint, consider one of the new eco-friendly interior paints that are VOC-free. Do some research and find a product that is really toxin free. Some paints claim to have reduced or removed VOCs, but in reality they have been reformulated using other chemicals that produce toxic gases. Some of the best non-toxic products are Mythic Paint, MAB Enviro-Pure Paint, Benjamin Moore Eco-Spec Paint, BioShield Milk Paint, and American Pride Paint.

Going green takes dedication, but the benefits are well worth it. Reducing the toxins inside your home can improve the quality of your life and make you feel good at the same time. After all, you're not only helping yourself, you're improving the whole planet.