the right actions for healthy and comfortable accommodation

“Stay home”. This has been the watchword for several weeks. Since the implementation of containment measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus, we’ve never spent so much time at home. For many, it is also the daily life that must be reinvented, and it is not always easy, especially when you find yourself living together 24 hours a day.

To make the most of this unprecedented period, it is important to feel good at home. A comfortable interior is first and foremost a clean and healthy accommodation. Cleaning up indoor air in particular is essential, says Qualitel, the association for the quality of housing.

Ventilate your interior at least twice a day

Pollution doesn’t just come from the outside. The air in our homes is far from clean. Airing your home is therefore essential to clean up the air we breathe at home, even more during these weeks of confinement where we have never spent so much time inside, and on top of each other.

Opening your window must therefore become a reflex. The right rhythm: at least 10 minutes twice a day to ventilate all rooms and effectively remove polluting particles (such as formaldehydes or VOCs, which emerge in particular from our paints or glue present in our furniture), mites, but also fight against humidity, harmful to health. Ventilate, open, ventilate, in a word, circulate the air.

Also think about your ventilation system and clean the ventilation grilles. Also pay attention to candles, incense and other home fragrances which, if they are pleasant at the time, are a real source of pollution for our interior.

Open the window when cooking

If, like many, you spend more time behind the stove, consider using your range hood and open the window when cooking. While it is pleasant to taste good small dishes, cooking emits many fine particles which greatly pollute the air in our accommodation.

According to a University of Colorado study published last year, indoor air after cooking a roast was five times more polluted than measurements recorded in central Paris… One reflex therefore: open the window when cooking.

Clean and disinfect its interior yes … but with caution

Worried about whether the Covid-19 can contaminate your home and whether to disinfect its interior to prevent the virus from spreading at home? Like other bacteria and viruses, Covid-19 can contaminate surfaces on contact. If nothing has proven the risk of indirect contamination, it is always better to be careful. Especially since our homes and apartments are currently under severe test, undergoing the daily passages of the whole family. Kitchen, bathroom, floors, door handles … therefore deserve regular maintenance.

Use disinfectant products, industrial or natural. If bleach is extremely effective, it is also toxic and must be handled with care to avoid accidents in the home. As a reminder: never use it pure or mix it with other chemicals, never apply it directly on the skin, do not ingest it or touch your eyes or mouth with having it handled.

To note : the alcohol vinegar is a more natural alternative and is ideal for cleaning the door handles or that of the refrigerator, but also the tops of furniture or even the kitchen worktop.

Hunt for dust and mites

These microscopic organisms are invisible, yet they pollute the air we breathe and are responsible for many allergies. And confinement does not help: living in a vacuum promotes their proliferation while the permanent comings and goings of the whole family make the dust fly.

The best solution to get rid of it: the vacuum cleaner. Vacuum regularly the surfaces at risk, starting with sofa mattresses, carpets, rugs and other curtains … Also remember to ventilate your bedding, and wash your clothes at 60 ° C, temperature at which the mites, but also the coronavirus, are eliminated.

Monitor the temperature of your accommodation

Mercury is climbing more and more outside, but also inside. Because we spend our whole days at home, working, studying or doing class, but also having fun in front of our screens or while exercising, the temperature of living rooms tends to increase . If you have not yet turned off the heating, be careful not to overheat your home.

Ademe recommends an average temperature of 19 ° C inside. More precisely between 19 and 21 ° C in the living room, the kitchen, the dining room, 22 ° C in the bathroom when the room is occupied, and between 16 and 17 ° C in the bedroom. Housing at the right temperature is more pleasant to live in, it is also better for the environment as well as for the wallet.

Noise pollution: better living with your neighbors

Containment requires: you are at home all day. This is probably also the case for your neighbors. A situation that multiplies the risk of noise pollution that could inconvenience everyone, especially if you live in a condominium or in a terraced house. In order for containment to be experienced as well as possible, pay attention to the noises which could disturb your comrades in confinement, but also your neighbors.

Pay attention to don’t listen to music too loud or make the television scream, equip the feet of your furniture with skates, leave your shoes at the entrance and walk in slippers or socks. Do you do work or do you like to tinker? Tell your neighbors and make sure that the nuisance is kept to a minimum and is limited to acceptable hours.

Are your neighbors making too much noise? Do not hesitate to favor dialogue to resolve the problem. Perhaps they simply did not realize the embarrassment caused.