Deciding to renovate a home can yield a lot of big benefits for smart homeowners. If you’re still planning on living in your home, you can finally get the décor, space, and major appliances you’ve always wanted.
And if you make some major, fundamental improvements, that aren’t just cosmetic, such as opening up a kitchen space, you can even add more value to the property itself.
But if you’re making big changes to a home, you’ve got to remember to think about keeping the air safe. Here are a few very important tips to think about when you do this!
Wear Masks When Exploring Basements & Attics
If part of your home renovation is going to involve finally finishing a basement or attic space, so you’ve got more room for that den, study, home office, “man cave” or other space, be very careful if these spaces have thus far been neglected.
Wear protective breathing gear, especially if you’re opening up walls or panels that have never been touched before. The reason you want to take these precautions is because of spores from old, or contaminants from rodents.
Spores and rodent remains can be very fine and dusty, but can still remain incredibly virulent. If you breathe these in, you can make yourself sick, or, worse yet, endanger other family members.
Check for Asbestos
If you live in an older home, and you’re tearing down walls, this is an especially important tip for air safety.
Asbestos was a very popular construction material in decades past because it had impressive flameproof properties. As a result, many older buildings were lined with it to act as both an insulator and to help protect against fires.
Unfortunately, it was eventually discovered that asbestos is a highly carcinogenic, cancer-causing substance. If left undisturbed, it’s harmless. But once it gets broken up into dust particles it is incredibly toxic.
Do not attempt to remove asbestos yourself. If you suspect that your building may have it, or just want to be safe, let professionals conduct a search and, if they find it, bring in a professional asbestos clean-up crew. This is an officially banned substance in the USA now!
Change Your Filter
Once the renovations are done, one thing you should do before kicking back and relaxing is going to your HVAC system and switching out the air filter in there for a fresh one.
Under normal circumstances, it’s recommended that you change out your filter every three months, as the seasons change.
However, with something as big as a renovation, the situation has changed. With all the work being done in a house, like tearing down walls, putting in new appliances, rewiring electrical and other activities, a lot of particles have been released into the air that your filter has caught.
It’s now unusually dirty, so you’re better off replacing it with a fresh one, thus keeping your HVAC system efficient, instead of working even harder, trying to compensate for a dirty filter. Renovating a home in Montgomery, AL can be a great experience, but always remember that this kind of work can compromise your air. Make sure you take this into account for a safer experience!
