Maintaining Healthy Lungs— 5 Tips for Improving Winter Air Pollution

With the winter quickly approaching, thoughts turn towards spending much more time indoors than you might normally like. This is not a bad thing. You get to spend time with family and friends away from the harsh weather that is lurking outside. At the same time, it can be a tricky endeavor to keep that recycled air inside fresh and relatively pollution free. If you suffer from asthma or allergies, you are well aware of the effect that dirty air can have on your lungs. It is important to do whatever you can to keep that air around you well circulated and clean.

Use a Humidifier

Winter months can bring abnormally dry air. This is compounded when you are indoors. All of that dry air can make it hard to breathe at times, particularly if you have asthma or allergies. A humidifier can remedy this problem nicely.

Change Filters Regularly

Go through you home and change anything that has an air filter. This is especially important for your heating unit. If you leave dirt in there, it will end up circulating throughout your home and make its way into your lungs. This is obviously no good, so give them a good cleaning at the beginning of the season.

Clean Your AC Vents

Many people have trouble breathing when the air quality is poor in their homes. One of the main reasons this happens is because of all the dust that is trapped in the vents in your home. When hot or cold air blows to keep you comfortable, the dust that’s been collecting can cause discomfort. This is a a good time of the year to make sure that you AC vents are thoroughly cleaned. For this, it is wise to make use of professional air conditioning services. They will come in and ensure that you are good to go for the winter. Your lungs will be happy that you did this.

Wear a Mask When Outside

You cannot control how much pollution is outside. The winter months can be particularly bad for this, so you will want to consider a mask if you have asthma or if your allergies are acting up. This will prevent harmful particles from making their way into your lungs.

Invest in an Air Purifier

If you really want to clean up the air inside your home, use an air purifier. This will remove much of the dust and allergens that you cannot see, yet seem to invade your lungs. You will be amazed at how much fresher the air around you becomes.

If you follow these five tips, you will be doing your lungs a great service. Each one of them helps to clean the air around you in one way or the other. While you cannot do much on your own to control the amount of pollution outside, inside is another story altogether. Work towards giving your lungs the breath of fresh air that they crave and you will discover that asthma and allergies will stay at bay longer.