How do I improve ventilation in my home?
Top tips on keeping your home properly ventilated.
While in the UK, we often try desperately to keep warmth in and drafts out, there are many benefits to having a properly ventilated home. Keeping the air flowing throughout your property can have numerous health benefits and put a stop to some pretty nasty issues.
“But how do I improve ventilation in my home?” You ask.
In this blog post, the experts at Merry Maids UK have devised a guide to keeping your home properly ventilated.
Why is it important to keep your home well ventilated?
Ventilation (or the exchange of fresh air outside and stagnant air and moisture inside) can prevent harmful pollutants and moisture from being trapped in your home.
The average person breathes in 11,000 litres of air daily – that’s about the size of a cement mixer truck! Ensuring your home is well ventilated means this gigantic amount of air you’re breathing day in and day out contains lots of vital oxygen and removes air pollutants from inside the home, like smoke, carbon dioxide and cooking smells.
Speaking of cooking smells, ventilation is of particular significance in the kitchen and bathroom. Any room containing a gas appliance must be properly ventilated to provide enough oxygen to burn and prevent the appliance from producing dangerous carbon monoxide.
The high air moisture levels in these rooms also cause condensation, the precursor to damp and mould. The average UK family produces 20 litres of moisture daily from breathing and everyday activities, so properly ventilating your property helps you avoid costly repairs.
What are the Building Regulations for ventilation?
In the UK, Building Regulations require that the ventilation in your home is not worsened by the installation of energy efficiency measures.
When work is done on homes, gaps and cracks previously providing useful ventilation are often sealed. In older homes, these may have been the only source of ventilation. Thus, when windows are replaced, a background ventilator (trickle vent) should be installed to replace any lost ventilation. If, however, it can be proven that replacing your window did not reduce the amount of useful ventilation, more ventilation is unnecessary.
How to improve ventilation in your home
To ensure that your home is properly ventilated, you must allow for natural air flow and filtration throughout the property.
- Always leave trickle vents open, even in winter. This won’t significantly affect your heating costs, but will ensure a fresh flow of clean air.
- Leave internal doors between rooms open to allow for a natural flow of air and stop lingering smells.
- Ensure you have and regularly clean any extractor fans in bathrooms and kitchens.
- If you have any whole-house mechanical ventilation systems, check the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure the filters are replaced as stated (typically annually).
- Air out the home as often as possible – even in winter. In colder months, turn off your central heating and air out the home three times a day if possible.
- Invest in ceiling fans to stop hot air from becoming trapped near the ceiling.
- Reduce dust and allergens through regular cleaning to improve air quality
Want to breathe easier?
This spring and summer, let out the deep breath you didn’t know you were holding by leaving your home cleaning to the professionals at your nearest Merry Maids business.
Our experts are on hand to give you the time back to focus on what matters most to you, not the cleaning.
With regular services, we’ll thoroughly clean kitchens and bathrooms, including extractor fans, to ensure the air quality in your home helps you breathe easier.
Contact us today for a free, no-obligation quote on our range of professional and bespoke cleaning services or book online in select locations.
