-Circulate fresh, outdoor air through your home every day to remove stale air and move pollutants out.

-Wipe feet off before coming inside, and take shoes off in the house in order to keep out pesticide contamination.

-Replace or clean furnace and air filters when they are dirty. Check them regularly, at least every two months. Use a "high efficiency particulate filter" (HEPA).

-Use ventilating fans over the stove and in the bathroom and be sure they are vented to the outside of the house.

-Keep ventilating fans clean.

-Use safe cleaning products, those without any of the signal words ("danger" "warning" or "caution"). If you do not use safe household products, read the label and follow the directions carefully.

-Vacuum carpets well and stuffed furniture well, wash linens weekly and dust regularly to keep the allergen "dust mites" to a minimum. Dust mites are microscopic bugs that live in the dust and our sloughed off skin.

-Assure the gas flame in all appliances is blue, without much yellow. If there is a strong smell of natural gas, open the windows, leave the house, and call the gas company.

-Be sure to have good ventilation in rooms with working fireplaces and gas or wood stoves.

-Do not burn charcoal or kerosene heaters indoors

-Humidifiers can improve the quality of air in your home during the winter. Keep the level of humidity below 50% to prevent the growth of molds, spores and dust mites. Take proper care of your humidifier so that you don't increase the pollution levels in your home.

-Clean water reserves often.

-Follow the manufacturer's instructions for care and cleaning, especially in places where condensation occurs like pans or coils.

-Don't let water sit. Fill the humidifier with clean or distilled water right before you use it and empty the water when the mechanism is turned off.

-Run humidifiers only at night when the heater is running to avoid excess humidity.

-Don't run humidifiers in rooms with the door shut.

-Turn your humidifier on in heating season and off during cooling season.

-Change pads in your unit each year either prior to the heating season or after.

-During extremely cold weather, you home loses humidity and can drop to as low as 5%. Optimal comfort range for humidity levels in your home is 40-55%. Inadequate humidification during cold weather is one of the major causes of respiratory infections.

-With today’s humidifier designs, there isn’t the worry of your humidifier spreading germs.

-Maintaining the proper relative humidity in your home can help protect your investment. Dry air results in warping and splitting of furniture, woodwork and hardwood floors.

-Dry air promotes static electricity. To avoid being zapped every time you touch something or someone, increase the humidity level in your home. Static discharges can also be harmful to various electrical components like computers and home stereo equipment.

DUCTS

-Ducts should be cleaned at least every five years.

-Check your ducts for air leaks. First, look for sections that should be joined but have separated and then look for obvious holes.

-If you use tape to seal your ducts, avoid cloth-backed, rubber adhesive duct tape, which tends to fail quickly. Researchers recommend other products to seal ducts: mastic, butyl tape, foil tape, or other heat approved tapes. Look for tape with the Underwriters Laboratories logo.

-Remember that insulating ducts in the basement will make the basement colder. If both the ducts and the basement walls are uninsulated, consider insulating both.

-If your basement has been converted to a living area, hire a professional to install both supply and return registers in the basement rooms.

-Be sure a well-sealed vapor barrier exists on the outside of the insulation on cooling ducts to prevent moisture buildup.

-When doing ductwork, be sure to get professional help. Changes and repairs to a duct system should always be performed by a qualified professional.

-Ducts that don't work properly can create serious, life-threatening carbon monoxide (CO) problems in the home. Install a CO monitor to alert you to harmful CO levels if you have a fuel-burning furnace, stove or other appliance, or an attached garage.

-Long-Term Savings Tip: You can lose up to 60% of your heated air before it reaches the register if your ducts aren't insulated and they travel through unheated spaces such as the attic or crawlspace. Get a qualified professional to help you insulate and repair ducts.

AIR CLEANERS

-Change the media in your air cleaner every year.

-Choose an air cleaner that uses a HEPA filter system. HEPA filters remove even extremely small particles from the air you breathe.

-Air cleaners can protect heating and cooling equipment by filtering out airborne particles.

-Today’s air cleaners no longer require monthly cleaning of collector plates.