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Your Guide to Celebrating National Indoor Air Quality Awareness Month
October ushers in National Indoor Air Quality Awareness Month, a perfect time to tackle the rising allergens and declining air quality that sneak into our daily lives. With colder weather on the horizon and more time spent indoors, it’s crucial to focus on the state of our living spaces. Understanding and improving indoor air quality is key to making sure our homes remain retreats from the seasonal surge in indoor pollutants.
Here are our top tips for making the most of National Indoor Air Quality Awareness Month:
- Commit to the National Indoor Air Quality Awareness Month Challenge. You’ll be surprised how effective simple tasks can be.
- Get to know your own filter: What is the MPR? Is it CERTIFIED asthma & allergy friendly by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) and Allergy Standards Limited (ASL)?
Learn more below! - Bookmark this page — it’s packed full of actionable tips to help improve your indoor air quality.
Commit to the National Indoor Air Quality Awareness Month 7-Day Challenge
You know improving your indoor air quality is beneficial for your home’s health, but thinking about tackling the entire house can feel daunting. This one-week challenge encourages you to focus on small tasks that can help make a big impact.
So, pick a week this month and start improving your indoor air!
- Day 1: Download the Filtrete™ Smart App. It’ll help you stay on top of filter changes by sending reminder notifications on your smartphone.
- Day 2: Swap your air filter for a CERTIFIED asthma & allergy friendly® Filtrete™ Air Filter, which includes MPRs 1500, 1600, 1900 and 2200.
- Day 3: Remove vent covers and gently clean them with warm, soapy water. While they’re air drying, vacuum any visible dust and debris out of your vents.
- Day 4: Spray vinegar or sprinkle baking soda on carpets and rugs before vacuuming them to help remove odors, pollutants and allergens.
- Day 5: Ditch aerosol sprays — like hairspray, air fresheners and deodorants — to avoid polluting your indoor air with volatile organic compounds.
- Day 6: Wash your window curtains to remove dust, making sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions.
- Day 7: Bathe your pets to minimize the dander they shed.
Get Your Filter Facts Straight
While you clean up your indoor air, let’s get clear on some important info, too. Check out the video below where 3M Senior Application Engineer Kelsey Hei busts a common misconception about airflow restriction from higher efficiency Filtrete™ Air Filters.
What it means to be CERTIFIED asthma & allergy friendly®
CERTIFIED asthma & allergy friendly® Filtrete™ Air Filters are designed to capture allergens and help improve air quality, playing a vital role in a holistic approach to healthier indoor environments. But earning this certification isn’t easy.
To become CERTIFIED asthma & allergy friendly®, filters undergo rigorous product testing by independent, third-party labs. When evaluating filters, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America focuses on testing a filter’s ability to capture real allergens and their impacts on overall indoor air quality. Find more about the testing performance criteria below.
