Improve your indoor air quality by doing these things on Fall Back (end of Daylight Savings Time)

Since we still practice daylight savings time in most areas of the US, these 2 days a year are used as reminders to do important things biannually.  The most longstanding one is probably…change the smoke alarm batteries.  However, the Martha Stewarts of the world have compiled a few more tasks, which you can do or ignore at your own peril!  As far as air quality goes, we think it’s a great time to do the following: (9 Things to Do When Daylight Saving Time Ends)

• Yes–Change your smoke AND carbon monoxide (CO) alarm batteries: although smoke alarms are sometimes sensitive and annoying when you’re cooking, they are there to save lives in an emergency, so don’t ignore them altogether by not changing the batteries.  CO detectors can also save your life at the most unexpected times, because this gas is colorless, odorless and deadly, and can seep throughout your home undetected by a malfunctioning gas appliance.

• Clean and Reverse your Ceiling Fans:  Fans, whether they’re used or not, could literally be cleaned every week… but if you’re behind on cleaning, we’ll put it at the top of this semi-annual list.  Check out our article mentioning the easiest way (in our opinion) to clean ceiling fans, and since daylight savings change time also generally marks the change of cooling/ heating seasons, you’ll want to flip the switch on the motor (or remote) to reverse the rotation.  Clockwise for heating season (winter), anti-clockwise for cooling season!

• Schedule a check of the chimney: in many parts of the US chimneys are already in use by this time-change day, so it’s a perfect time to prep your chimney for winter use. The Chimney Safety Institute of America recommends inspecting your chimney at least once a year, particularly if you use it frequently. During the inspection, a chimney professional can check for damage and, if needed, clean away soot and creosote buildup — the leading cause of chimney fires. (Daylight Saving Time Household To-Do List)  Check out our article for other appliances that should be checked as well. 

• (Flip and) Vacuum your mattress: traditional wisdom says that flipping your mattress (or just rotating it if you have a pillowtop) helps it to even out wear and last longer.  We would add, if you don’t have mattress and boxspring encasements, vacuum it with a HEPA vacuum before flipping to get as many dust mites out as possible (and vacuum under/behind the bed while you’re at it!)

• Wash your pillows: again, if you're not using encasements, you’ll need to wash pillows!   it’s a good time to toss your fiberfill pillows (regular polyester stuffing) in the washing machine on a hot cycle to kill dust mites, or get your down pillows to a dry cleaner.  Foam pillows can be spot cleaned and aired out in the sunshine to kill mites on the surface.  If your pillows are more than 2 years old (and you don’t use encasements) experts say that it’s time to throw them out and get new ones, because of the embedded dust mites and allergens.

• Vacuum out your dryer's vent and ducts: You should only need a screwdriver if your dryer vent is held on by a steel band hose clamp.  If you disconnect both ends from the dryer and wall, you can take it outside for a thorough cleaning, but if you can only get to one end, vacuum as far as you can with attachments on your HEPA vacuum (you can also go outside and work from where it exits your home).  Here is a video on how to do a really thorough job. 

• Clean your oven:  This not only makes your baked food taste better (it won’t be flavored by smoke from burning food remains), it reduces the VOCs in your home when you bake.  Some ovens have a self-cleaning function; make sure to have the oven racks removed and kitchen exhaust vent running while this is on, because the oven is literally incinerating baked-on food and grime at extremely high temperatures, typically 800-1200°F (425-650°C), converting it to a fine ash that is then easily wiped away with a damp cloth.  This is actually a dangerous, high energy option (to your oven and home), so according to a professional cleaner, it’s better to clean it manually.  This video shows how to do a thorough job with non-toxic cleaners like baking soda and vinegar, as well as the proper scrubbing tools.

• Clean the refrigerator coils: Just like any other cleaning project, there’s the fast way, and there’s the better way (takes longer).  The fast way should only take a few minutes on your regular round of vacuuming (with a HEPA vacuum) to pull the whole refrigerator out, and vacuum underneath the fridge and the opening of the access panel where airflow goes in to the coils.  On older refrigerators, there may be a kick panel that simply pulls off to access coils from the front.  However, if you follow the steps in this video, you’ll see there may be a lot more dust on the coils behind the access panel, which you can usually remove with a screwdriver. 

Photo by Adrien Robert on Unsplash