Hardwood floors do add warmth and beauty to any space. They help you feel at-home with a look that can range from high-end to homey.
Did you realize, though, what health benefits come with hardwood floors?
Our neighbors, clients and friends in and around Caseyville, O’Fallon and nearby towns are pretty concerned right now about indoor air quality. Whether these concerns come from talk of the global pandemic or from day-to-day realities of allergies now that spring is here, the decisions you make for your home can have a positive effect on the health of you and your family.
Homeowners have been educating themselves more than ever in recent weeks on how to achieve better air quality in their homes. According to the EPA, consumers in our country spend 90% of time indoors, 65% of that at home. And right now, time at home has reached unprecedented heights in face of COVID-19.
But, why the concern? Though most consumers don’t realize it, and education on air quality has only recently been available to the majority of families, organic pollutants can reach between 2 and 5 times higher inside than out. In extreme cases, indoor air pollutants have even reached 100 times the volume of pollutants outdoors.
Most places that families want to consider the safest places in fact aren’t as safe as they should be.
What do floors have to do with air quality?
Floors make up the largest surface area in our homes. Most flooring types are prone to trap certain pollutants, too, like dust and allergens. This can drastically impact the health of the household.
Hard surfaces like hardwood make it much harder for allergens to penetrate and cling to any part of the floor. In fact, air quality sustainability advocates USBC and LEED have identified hardwood floors as the healthier choice in flooring.
What do I do?
You can start by creating an even safer environment at home by considering hardwood flooring. And for those who do have wood floors, you can clean them regularly to get the most out of your anti-allergen decision.
Simple, regular cleaning includes dust-mopping hardwood floors daily with microfiber cloth or mops, and cleaning weekly with a pH neutral and non-toxic formula designed for hardwood, like the Bona wood floor cleaning system. We’ve written about cleaning hardwood floors recently, so read up to see how easily it can be done right.
We’re always thinking of additional ways to keep all our neighbors, clients and friends safe, so if you have any other home safety-related questions, reach out to us today.
