5 Insightful Tips for a Well-ventilated Home

Staying indoors for extended periods has been normalized because of the pandemic that hit the global community in 2020. Quarantines and lockdowns were enforced and left people with no choice but to stay inside their homes and go out only if necessary.

While Covid-19 cases have significantly reduced, practicing caution is still of utmost importance in containing its spread. Poor or low-grade ventilation is a Covid spreader, and immediately enforcing prevention methods will reduce the chances of Covid contractions.

Aside from being infected by the coronavirus, poor ventilation at home could also result in low-oxygen levels and a buildup of carbon dioxide, leading up to shortness of breath, headaches, and feelings of exhaustion for homebodies. 

In this post, we will explore a roundup of remedies to make your home well-ventilated and significantly reduce, if not completely eliminate, the harmful effects of poor ventilation. 

What is ventilation?

Ventilation refers to the necessity of removing stale indoor air in a home or a building for improved and healthier air flow. Ventilation gets even more crucial in a world still challenged by an airborne coronavirus, since poor ventilation allows for increased chances of contracting the highly contagious flu-like disease when a family member gets infected, making proper ventilation at home one of the key solutions against the spread of Covid-19.

Types of a ventilation system

Invisible particles pollute indoor air and produce harmful gases such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the sources of which are most common in personal care items like cosmetics and cleaning products, building materials such as paint, vinyl flooring, and activities such as smoking.

Channeling maximum ventilation in your home involves three methods that you could choose from. The success of each type could be dependent on climate conditions, building design, and even human behavior.

The following are the types of efficient ventilation systems to achieve the most appropriate levels of indoor air quality.

• Natural Ventilation
• Mechanical Ventilation
• Hybrid Ventilation

Natural ventilation

Natural ventilation involves the method of bringing fresh air to your home without depending on the use of mechanical systems, such as an air conditioner, hence saving up on electricity costs without compromising air quality. It accumulates fresh outdoor air into the home through openings such as windows and interior doors.

Mechanical ventilation

Natural ventilation doesn't always suffice. Mechanical means such as the use of electric fans and air-conditioners will efficiently help in the improvement of indoor air and increase air filtration. As mentioned, ventilation depends on weather conditions. If warm, infiltration may have to be reduced to lower interstitial condensation, which would require a positive pressure ventilation approach.

Mixed-mode ventilation

The synergy of implementing both natural and mechanical ventilation makes up for balanced ventilation systems. There is a need for both types when natural ventilation fails to provide desired ventilation rates. The use of exhaust fans will remove virus particles, and is best when there is a sick family member who has an airborne respiratory ailment.

Tips to make your home well-ventilated

Home ventilation is not just for the people living inside and protecting one's health, but also for the home itself, where we give utmost importance to making it a place that is conducive to relaxation. The following are practical tips to make your home well-ventilated.

1. Use fans to enhance air flow

Cheaper than the use of an air-conditioner for mechanical ventilation is an electric fan, which is practically present in nearly all Filipino homes. Consider placing a fan near open windows and make the fan blow air outside instead of directly at people in the house, which might blow contaminated air to your family members. Also consider using ceiling fans, which will improve air flow without having to open multiple doors and windows.

2. Place exhaust fans in your bathroom and kitchen

When using the bathroom, turn your exhaust fan on so it will pull virus particles, foul odor, and other pollutants out of the room. The same goes for putting an exhaust fan in the kitchen. This is also a great alternative if natural ventilation methods such as opening doors and windows are considered unsafe for you and the family, such as bad air quality coming in.

3. Try using a portable air cleaner

A high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) cleaner can dispense ventilation if your home does not have an HVAC system (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning). According to the Centers for Disease Control, the best portable air cleaner contains Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) that corresponds to a room's size. The higher the CADR, the more efficient it could clean indoor stale air.

4. Open the windows and doors inside your home

Take warm air out of your house by simply opening your casement windows and interior doors. This is one of the best and easy means of improving ventilation, which is by inviting fresh outdoor air into the room and removing stale indoor air if the door and windows are open.

5. Enforce physical distancing for multiple visitors

While there have been fewer Covid-19 cases due to citizen compliance in getting vaccines and strict prevention protocols, the virus did not disappear and is even said to stay with us forever. So unless you have large indoors that can accommodate multiple visitors at once, practice physical distancing and don't make them gather in one place where there is little space for congregation. After they leave, switch your exhaust fans on for about an hour to remove the pollutants that may still be in the air.

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Having said this, Lumina Homes is available in over 50 key locations from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, and provides quality and affordable house and lot for over a decade. Know more about homebuying tips through our blogs or directly get in touch with us to own a Lumina house and lot in the Philippines!