Proper home ventilation is one of the most basic necessities of a comfortable home. Ventilation maintains air quality in the home while also removing excess moisture, ensuring the air inside your home isn’t stale, damp, or downright funky.
Unfortunately, New Zealand homes are not necessarily the best in the world when it comes to home ventilation. It happens due to a number of factors, such as high heat and humidity during the peak of the summer season. But that doesn’t mean there are no ways to improve ventilation inside Kiwi homes.
As the summer season is approaching, now is the perfect time to ensure that your home becomes a comfortable living space for your family. We’ve listed down a range of tips to improve your home ventilation.
Dry the Laundry Outside
Many of us are guilty of doing the laundry and drying the clothes inside our home. Some of us blame it on the unpredictable weather, while others may not have a sufficient outdoor space to hang their laundry. While all of the abovementioned reasons are legitimate, drying wet clothes inside our home create condensation & accelerate mold growth, especially in winter.
To prevent this from occurring, it is best to dry your clothes in a covered outdoor area, such as under a canopy or patio cover, so that your laundry can dry properly while keeping it away from the rain. If drying laundry indoors is your only option, no worries – just make sure your windows are open while you’re at it, allowing the excess moisture to escape.
Open Your Windows and Doors
This tip might seem like a no-brainer for many people, but the most important – yet the easiest – thing you have to do is to open all the windows in your home. Just open the doors and windows a few times during the day to quickly “air out” your house will help you to get rid of pollutants, allergens, and excess moisture. At the same time, you can have the breeze from outside, which will drastically improve the ambiance inside the home. Simply put, opening the windows will let all the fresh air in and push all the stale air out.
Leaving windows slightly ajar overnight can improve the air quality inside your room, while also reducing excess moisture and the risk of mold growth. In the summer, leaving the windows slightly open overnight can really help with reducing the humidity levels, resulting in better sleep quality. However, be careful not to do the same during winter as you don’t want too much heat to escape your home.
Get a Decent Exhaust Fan
Another great way to improve the circulation of air is by installing exhaust fans. These fans are best installed at key places where the humid and funky air can build up really quickly, such as the bathrooms and laundry rooms. Another indoor space that needs a great exhaust fan is the kitchen, especially if your kitchen area does not have any windows for ventilation. Without proper ventilation, that strong cooking smell could linger easily throughout the house and your ceiling paint will quickly peel off due to moisture. By installing an exhaust fan in the kitchen, you will be able to let out the steam, moisture, and hot air that build up while cooking.
Decorative Plants
Houseplants have many benefits: they are fun to care for, they look good on Instagram, and they express environmental awareness through interior design. One of houseplants’ most commonly repeated virtues is that not only they are pleasing to the eyes, but houseplants are reportedly great at filtering airborne toxins, such as benzene, formaldehyde, carbon dioxide, and trichloroethylene, to name a few. According to a previous study by NASA, some of the best indoor plants that can help to improve indoor air quality are English ivy, spider plant, peace lily, snake plant, and weeping fig.
Consider a home ventilation system
A well-designed and well-installed home ventilation system provides excellent ventilation, regardless of what the weather is like outside, which is a great alternative to simply opening doors and windows. If you don’t have one already, Northern Lights can help you to install one. Replace the stale air in your home with fresh, dry air to create a healthier, drier, and warmer living environment for your family.
