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Tips for Cleaner Air While Renovating Your Home

Tips for Cleaner Air While Renovating Your HomeIf you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you might have noticed that we’re in the middle of totally remodeling our home… by ourselves. Yes, really.

It’s a long story, but basically my husband knows what he’s doing + we don’t like to pay for things to not be done to his standards *cough* perfectionist *cough* + we don’t really have the cash to do that anyway + we’re totally f’n nuts = we’ve been doing a total gut job on the house while living here. We started in September of last year and likely won’t be totally done until winter of this year… or early next year.

So when Honeywell Plugged In reached out to me about their air purifiers I all but pounced on them. With all of the renovation dirt and dust being kicked up, I knew that I wanted to find a way to minimize the impact on our indoor air quality. I’ve written before about tips for improving indoor air quality, but doing it during a home renovation is a whole other ball of wax.

I’ve put together a few tips that have helped us (so far) and hopefully they will help you too — and Honeywell has generously offered an air purifier for me to give away to one lucky reader as well, so be sure to check that out at the bottom of this post.

Contain It

While this is not the most earth friendly option, sealing off any rooms or construction areas with plastic sheeting will create an affordable, physical barrier between your construction zone and the rest of your living space. While it may not be fool-proof, it will greatly help. If the space you are working in has heating and cooling vents or cold air returns, you may also want to seal them off to prevent wider spread contamination.

Additionally, if you’re DIYing, you may be able to opt for dust catching versions of some of your tools. While going out and buying tools that you already own may not be cost effective, it may be worth considering tools with dust collectors if you need to buy or rent a tool anyway.

Keep It Clean

Renovations aren’t known for their cleanliness, but doing your best to clean up as you go can really help. Sure, it might take you a bit more time overall, but it will also keep you from kicking up excess dust and particles. While you’re at it, be sure to use non-toxic cleaners! That’s always important but it’s worth repeating.

If you have items in the space that you are unable to remove, cover them! Heavy sheets or junky blankets work well and will also help prevent damage from paint, stain, drywall mud, and many other renovation materials.

Use Air Purifiers

Dust is a mighty foe. No matter how hard we try to fight it, dust is there. Run air purifiers in the rooms you spend the most time in (bedrooms, living room, etc.) to minimize exposure.

The one I’ve been using is made by Honeywell and utilizes a HEPA filter to help capture 99.97% of microscopic allergens that pass through it. It also helps to effectively remove odors, VOCs (plenty of these during a renovation), and certain germs in rooms up to  465 square feet.

This particular purifier offers a timer feature so that you can turn it on and not forget to turn it off. Choose 2, 4, or 8 hours on three different cleaning settings plus turbo. I love to keep this filter in my room at night, so I also appreciate the addition of a light dimmer to turn off the panel lights while I sleep. If you’re a nightlight person it’d be perfect, but I am definitely not.

Replace Your HVAC Filter

A quality filter will fun you a bit more than standard filters, but a bump up in quality is worth it – especially during a renovation. Look for filters that remove allergens and be sure to check it more often than you normally would. You’ll have a lot more debris in the air than usual and you want to be sure that it’s allowing air through properly — both for cleaner air and a better running HVAC system.

Vacuum Often

A good vacuum is so important … and actually using it is everything during a renovation. I have a Dyson and absolutely adore it. I think I’ve had it for about 5 years now and I cannot imagine a world without it. It handles my kids, our shedding dog, and now this renovation. Totally worth its weight in gold.

Open the Windows

Good air flow can certainly help dilute the ick and move particles through. Be sure to only open them up when outside work isn’t kicking up extra debris though. Open windows while you’re backfilling will likely not yield the desired results. ?

Choose Safe Finishes

Choosing Low/No VOC paints, flooring, glues, and sealants can make a huge impact on your indoor air quality during the renovation and for years to come. Thankfully these things have become much more common in recent years, with even some of the biggest stores and brands making it their standard!

Final Cleaning

Once the renovations are over and the dust has settled, give everything a thorough cleaning and strongly consider having your ducts clean to remove any debris that may have found its way into your system.

I hope these tips help you keep your home a bit healthier during your renovation – and I wish you the best of luck on a swift process. Like me, I’m sure you can’t wait to relax in your newly renovated (and hopefully calmer, cleaner) space.

~* Enter to win! *~

Honeywell Plugged In has generously offered to give away the same purifier that I have been using the past few months. I love it and I know that you will too! This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and if you must have one right away you can find it on their website or at a store near you ?

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