4 simple ways to maintain your home’s health this winter
Are you looking after your health? Getting enough sleep? Fresh air? Sunlight?
I’m not being nosey, honest! The environment around you plays an integral role in your overall wellness, including your mental health. And with home being the main setting for many people right now (considering increased ability to work from home), it is incredibly important to pay attention to the health of your home, too.
Besides regular cleaning and that satisfying Spring Clean, there are four super simple tips I want to share with you to keep your home feeling fresh and hygienic this winter.
Fresh air, fresh mind
Keep the oxygen flowing in your home by opening up windows and doors to encourage ventilation.
As many newer homes are designed to prevent draughts from occurring, it also means they no longer feature those old vents below the ceiling cornice we’ve become accustomed to in older homes. And for this reason, you need to take advantage of all the fresh air you can from the outside of your home to help ventilate your rooms and prevent mould growth throughout.
Dehumidify to beat the damp
If you’ve tried ventilating your home with good ol’ fresh air and sunshine but are still coming up short, it may be time to invest in a dehumidifier.
Simply flick a switch, press a button on a remote or set up your dehumidifier on your smartphone to lower the humidity in your home. It’s amazing how much water there is in the air – especially in the warmer months. You’ll be surprised at how much humidity your dehumidifier can collect in a short period of time!
And what to do with this water once your new humidity machine has done it’s job? Why, tip it into the garden of course! Now that’s what I call eco-friendly.
Say “sayonara” to creepy-crawlies
We all know that disease and illness can spread easily in a house that is not well cared for; but when that home is also infested with bugs and pests, your chances of falling sick are much higher.
My first question here is, what type of pests do you have? German cockroaches (those little black ones) for example are quite difficult to kill – even for Pest Spray professionals. Got a few bush cockies? A pest spray, surface spray or good old-fashioned flip-flop slap will do the trick.
But this brings me to my second question: how are they getting in? Let’s think about spiders. They are relatively easy to ward off with barrier sprays, but the key is to stop them from entering your house altogether – which might mean you need to inspect your home for cracks or holes that the spiders can crawl through at any given moment.
Lastly, what damage can these pests do to you or your home? While spiders and fleas may bite you, termites on the other hand will eat through the wood in your home, which could lead to damaged load-bearing walls or holes created between the inside and outside, allowing more bugs to enter your property.
Go away, mould
As mentioned earlier, letting fresh air into your home not only gives your rooms and décor a chance to breathe but helps to minimise mould, too. Because our homes are full of natural fibres like timber, they become something of a ‘living organism’ for mould growth if we aren’t careful.
Because mould is visible, it is generally easy to spot. That said, when all else fails and you can’t spot the mould, you can certainly smell it. So, take a whiff in the rooms of your house, inspect behind curtains and furniture, and pay extra close attention to whether there is any dampness on your walls, carpets, surfaces, or tiles.
So, there you have it. It doesn’t take much effort to stay on top of your home’s health. Whether it’s by sight, smell, or touch, let your senses guide you in maintaining a safe and liveable home.