We asked Kitchen Cousins star Anthony Carrino for one small, immediate change we can make to improve our homes, and he recommended buying an air quality monitor. It's not sexy, but well worth considering.
Investing in one of the best air purifiers will reduce the pollutants, odors, and dust in the air, and can also make a big difference if you suffer from hay fever or pet allergies. Anthony Carrino, home designer and developer and Trane Residential partner, says a piece of kit that will update you on the air quality in your home is a must-have.
Anthony Carrino's air quality monitor tip
'A change people can make is to start monitoring their air quality with an indoor air monitoring device,' says Anthony Carrino. 'These can be bought online and can help you identify the pollutants that can compromise your health and your comfort when at home.'
Indoor air quality's not something we used to give a lot of thought. In times gone by we'd open a window, keep on top of dust, and hope for the best. But we spend so much of our time indoors, whether at work, at home or in school, and an air quality monitor provides us with some peace of mind.
Everything from cleaning chemicals to dust can compromise our air quality, and living with poor air quality can be harmful to our health.
'The Awair Element ($299) is compatible with many smart home systems and can easily share data with you about how your indoor air quality measures up against indoor air factors like humidity, dust, and carbon dioxide,' the HGTV star explains. If you already have an Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant at home, the Awair Element Indoor Air Quality Monitor will link up with them.
This particular model measures various factors: temperature, humidity, CO2, fine particle matter and TVOC (total volatile organic compounds). It takes these into account and translates it into a concise overall score.
Sure, we can think of home updates that would get us a little more excited, but an air quality monitor will help us breathe easy.