6 Ways to Improve Your Home Air Quality (And 1 Solution That’s a Waste of Time)

1. Install (or Make) an Air Purifier

So, the bad news is that the air outside is dangerous today. You’ve been told to stay inside and close doors and windows—but that’s just a start. What about the air that’s already inside? You need to purify your air, which sounds like a pricey enterprise. It’s not necessarily: you can attach a HEPA filter to a box fan and create a surprisingly effective air cleansing device. Alternatively, check out these 10 best home air purifiers on the market, including the controversial new nanotechnology deployed by sleek, upscale Molekule purifiers and the less-than-$250 Coway Mighty purifier that this editor has been using for the past three months and loves (my pet allergies are way less noticeable).

Note: All air purifiers are not created equal. For example, the state-funded California Air Resources Board cautions against operating a so-called ozone-generating air purifier, since ozone is the primary ingredient in smog and it can cause coughing, shortness of breath and impaired breathing. Instead, look for devices listed as mechanical, or electronic designs that emit less than .050 parts per million.

2. Upgrade Your Home’s Air Filter

Silver lining department: Imagine our surprise when, during the middle of a recent heat wave, we called the AC repair tech and feared the worst. Was it the whole HVAC system? An important and expensive part needing to be ordered? Nope, the issue was a clogged air filter on our central air con’s return duct—that’s where the air is sucked into the system to be cooled then recirculated. When our air tech replaced it, he explained that the thin filters our home had been using were basically ineffective against all but the largest particles, and since our household has pets (and pet allergy sufferers), we should switch to a filter with a MERV rating of 10 or above. MERV stands for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value, and I ordered a batch of MERV 13 filters on Amazon (after checking to make sure I had the right size for my air exchange opening). I'm planning to change them every month in my very dirty SoCal air, since now the house’s air feels much crisper and cleaner.

3. Damp Mop and Dust

According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the act of dusting can actually make allergies worse, since the cloud of dust stirred up can make sufferers sneeze, and get stuffy noses and watery or red, itchy eyes. To avoid dust and the tiny dust mites that feed off of it, avoid wall-to-wall carpeting, especially in bedrooms. If you’re the sufferer, wear an N95 mask while you’re cleaning (and for a couple hours after, while the dust settles); if a family member is sensitive to dust, it’s best to ask them to leave for the few hours it takes to clean the house. Get rid of unnecessary clutter, which is a dust magnet, and dampen your microfiber dusting cloth before swiping it across a surface, so that you’re not circulating the dust.

4. Test Your Air Quality

Air quality testers use laser beams and electrochemical sensors to determine pollutants in the air. While noted tech-testing site Wirecutter cautions against investing in a pricey air quality monitor since these devices only report and don’t remedy the problem, the site’s product testers allow that it can still be helpful to have a finer assessment of your home’s air quality than just looking up your neighborhood AQI. The Temtop M10 monitor is a sleek little cube that’s relatively affordable at $80 and detects particles in the air, volatile organic compounds and formaldehyde. One user said she had the monitor in a nearby room when she opened a bottle of nail polish and the HCHO (formaldehyde) and TVOC (total volatile organic compounds) numbers skyrocketed and didn’t go down for hours.

5. Use a HEPA Filter Vacuum Cleaner

You track in pollutants on your shoes, and your home is a veritable soup of dead skin cells, animal dander and whatever wafts in the windows from nearby roadways, according to Todd Nelson at Studio City Vacuum and Sewing. “There’s no point in having any air purifier if you’re just moving dust around with your vacuum,” he says, so he recommends skipping the bagless models because “almost all of them spew dust.” Look for a model that has a HEPA filter, in addition to other filters (i.e., charcoal for odors), such as a Miele model that uses its cloth dust bags as filters. While the expense of a high-end vacuum might be daunting (Miele, for example, ranges from $400 to $1,500), refurbished models are often available at licensed retailers for half the cost of a new model.

6. Crack Open a Window

Recirculation is one of the best ways to clean up your air—you’re basically letting the chemicals and airborne toxins including viruses that are trapped inside waft away. As long as the exterior air isn’t full of fire smoke or exhaust from a nearby road, throw back your curtains and turn on the ceiling fan at least part of every day.

And the one thing *not* to do...

Plants for cleaner air? Not so much. There’s a commonly believed idea that plants improve the quality of indoor air. Makes sense right? Aren’t they supposed to take in CO2 and give off oxygen. Yes, this is true, but the theory that this has a net benefit in a household has recently been debunked. You’d have to put a jungle’s worth of plants in a single small room for them to make a noticeable difference, and still it would only be as effective as a standard office AC system. Oh well, variegated pothos, you had a good run.