The air inside your house, condo, or apartment greatly contributes to your general health and your indoor gardens health. The better the air quality, the healthier you and your plants will be. This is more easily said then done!

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air pollution is among the top five environmental risks to public health. EPA studies have shown indoor levels of pollutants may be exponentially higher than outdoor levels. With the majority of airborne contaminants invisible to the naked eye (spores, bacteria, particulates, gases, and chemicals) it is difficult to isolate these health threats and protect your family and indoor garden.

Inadequate ventilation is one of the main causes of indoor air pollution. Due to the lack of fresh air entering a home, common household tasks and activities can seriously threaten the indoor air quality. Improperly vented gas stoves and furnaces, wet or damp carpet, and household cleaning products are general sources of indoor air pollution.

There are many effective ways to address the air quality of your home and garden. First thing you should do, is realize that the air in your home, directly effects the quality of your indoor gardens air. A long term, comprehensive plan to address your entire place will be the best. Of course, getting your garden dialed in first is a good idea! Lets start with the basics…Calculate the square feet in your garden, and build a solid in/out ventilation system based on your calculations. Most fans have a “CFM” rate included on the packaging to allow you to make these calcuations. CFM stands for Cubic Feet Per Minute. In other words, a fan with 1000 CFMS, means it will exchange the air in 1000 cubic feet every minute. So you can get a great idea as to what you’ll need by measuring your room, and looking at the CFMs on your intake fans and filters. The air coming into your room from outside should be filtered, with a quality hepa filter, and the air going out of the garden should be filtered as well. ( for many reasons, including garden odors, mold prevention, and general household air quality.) With a quality activated carbon can filter. This takes care of the basic air quality going in and out of your room, now lets take it further! Humidity is a variable for pathogens in your home and garden, the more humidity you have in your room the more changes for problems you will face. A dehumidifier sized appropriately for your indoor garden will do wonders for your long term plant health and harvest. ( the water from a dehumidifier is some of the purist water you can give your plants too ) So now you have clean intake and outtake, dehumidified air, what else can you do to address ventilation? Ionizers are really great additions to any indoor garden, just be careful not to over ionize your plants. They make some really great Hepa/Ionizer combos that create “Living Air” and take your air quality to new heights. In general all these these are great basics for not just your indoor garden, but your whole place!

Small little things all add up to equal outstanding air quality that turns into healthier plants and people. Keep a vigilant eye on your carpets, drapes, down comforters and even clothing left in your garden. All of these things harbor molds, dust mites, fungus’s, viruses, and diseases. I have been in countless rooms where people have asked to me to diagnose there air problems, only to find a pile of wet mildewy rags in the corner, or carpeting that wasn’t pulled up and is molding under the plants. Even old ceilings and walls can harbor molds and pathogens. When you open and close the door to your grow room, you bring the environment from the rest of your house into the garden, so keep an eye on all these things everywhere in your house.