The basement is the one room in the house that seldom gets used to its full potential – but there’s so much you can do with it!
While it usually gets turned into storage, you have the potential for a home office, a movie room, and a spare guest room.
The biggest problem is that basements tend to be a little on the musty side.
So, what can you do to make your basement more comfortable and livable?
The best ways to improve basement air quality are to remove VOC chemicals, have a radon test, close the windows, install ventilation, find and seal cracks, use an air purifier which is a basement air cleaner, use a dehumidifier for humidity control and lastly do a basement air quality test.
Below, I will go into more detail on how to improve basement air quality.
9 Effective Techniques For Improving Basement Air Quality
Making your basement livable is something that you can do. It’s all about deciding your strategy and then putting it in place.
Since we don’t know what your basement is like, we’re going to give you plenty of suggestions so that you’ll have everything you need to get the job done right!
Let’s take a look at what you can do.
"wp-block-heading">1. Air Purifiers
When it comes to how to improve basement air quality, an air purifier can make a huge difference.
You want to look for an Air purifier that states it is HEPA-compliant.
This is a purity standard that is designed to filter out 99.97% of air contaminants, such as pollen, mold, bacteria, dust – you name it.
These air
purifiers can make a world of difference, especially while you are working down there to clean up the basement.
- 100% Ozone-Free
- Powerful Performance: With a CADR of 130 CFM
- Sleep Comfortably: With noise levels as low as 23 decibels
- Easy to Place
- Filter Replacements: Depending on usage, the filters should be replaced every 6–8 months.
2. Dehumidifiers
Moisture and dampness are conducive to mold and so you’ll want to dry out the basement as much as you can.
A dehumidifier can help you to do this, getting the moisture out of the air so that you can get the basement properly dried out and ready for your plans.
3. Remove VOC Chemicals
VOC stands for ‘volatile organic compounds’, which sounds fancy but it basically refers to things like trash or fertilizer that we tend to stick down in the basement when we don’t want to (or we’re not sure how to) deal with them.
These are toxic a
nd tend to smell up the basement anyways, so the VOCs have got to go!Check out our post on the: Most Popular air purifiers that help with Chemical Sensitivity
4. Radon Test
Radon is an invisible, odorless gas that has been linked to lung cancer and basements are at risk for this gas seeping in.
The EPA recommend
s testing at least once every 2 years to make sure that Radon is not present in your basement.5. Close The Windows
While windows sometimes get fresh air flowing in, they also have a nasty habit of blowing in pollen, humid air, and dust.
This means the allergen levels in the basement get raised, mold is encouraged, and the basements going to get dirty again. Not good. We want to control the basement environment as much as possible, so close those windows.
