Spring Cleaning and Remodeling, With Tips for Indoor Air Quality and Your Health

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image: Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Program

Spring means cleanup time. Whether you live in an apartment, townhouse or single-family home, an old home or a new one, there are many ways to protect and improve your indoor air quality.

When cleaning around the house, remember three steps that protect your health and the air you breathe.

  1. Minimize your chance of being exposed to contaminants.
  2. Minimize the use of products or practices that may cause harm to your family.
    EPA’s Safer Choice label helps consumers, businesses and purchasers find products that perform well and are safer for health and the environment.
  3. Increase ventilation before, during and immediately after cleaning.

 

Home upgrades and remodels can offer tremendous opportunities to protect the environment and improve your family’s health and quality of life, all while sustaining American jobs. Integrating healthy home improvements and energy efficiency upgrades can simultaneously lower utility costs and improve indoor air quality.

Image of an open window to a sunny green field.

 

Picture of a family standing in a field.

When remodeling or improving the energy efficiency of your home, steps should be taken to minimize pollution from sources inside the home, either from new materials or from materials already in the home that get disturbed. In addition, residents should be alert to signs of inadequate ventilation, such as stuffy air, moisture condensation on cold surfaces, or mold and mildew growth. These issues should be addressed before or during the remodeling process.

What You Can Do Now