The Fast Track to Home Fitness

Modern Americans seem obsessed with good health. Not only are we doing our best to get more exercise and eat better, we're also concerned about the purity of our water, as well as the air we breathe. We even have fitness programs and health food for our pets! With all the work we put into keeping our bodies healthy, it stands to reason that most of us are also concerned about how healthy our environment is. Though home improvements can't make you a star athlete overnight (if they could, we're sure you'd see a lot fewer gyms and a lot more bathroom remodels), we can say that implementing some of the following tactics can make your home a more pleasurable place to live in!

Hire Professional Cleaners
Most homeowners take pride in their properties, and keeping them looking good is a priority. However, while doing your own day-to-day cleaning is just peachy, hiring a professional periodically isn't a bad idea. The primary objective of daily and weekly chores is, of course, to keep things clean and sanitary; if we're honest with ourselves, however, the most common secondary objective when doing chores is to get the job done ASAP so we can move on to more desirable activities. This ulterior motive unfortunately leads to cutting corners. When you hire a professional to clean windows, carpets, drapes, furniture, or any other part of your home, their objective is to make you a returning customer; this often leads to a more thorough job in itself, but when you couple this motive with the best equipment and cleaning products on the market, the end result is something that few homeowners can achieve on their own.

Upgrade Your Ventilation
With the incredible leaps that have been made in window manufacturing and home insulation, houses are more air tight today than they've ever been before. While this is great news for lowering energy bills and reducing uncomfortable drafts, it is bad news for indoor air quality. Though the country as a whole seems more concerned with air quality than ever, the fact is that the air we breathe indoors often contains more pollutants than the air outside. In older homes where leaks and drafts were commonplace, air flow was left unrestricted to a fault; in today's homes, pollutants that would have literally seeped out the cracks can build up to much higher levels if the home is not properly ventilated. In many areas, and in many seasons, the solution to this problem is simply opening a window. During cold weather and in harsher environments, ventilation equipment like whole house fans are a better solution.

Opt for Professional Pest Control
Obviously, if your home is overrun by vermin of any sort, calling in a pro is going to be an easy choice. On the other hand, when homeowners see one or two pests on their property, there is often a natural inclination to save some money and handle the job themselves. The fact is, it is a rare occasion when you find a home containing only one mouse, one roach, or one pest of any kind; and while setting up traps and other deterrents yourself might be cheaper, calling in a pro is a far better way to eliminate the problem. Not only are professional pest control companies better equipped than any but the most eccentric homeowners, they are also better at identifying and fixing pest problems at their sources. The do-it-yourself route can sometimes be successful, but if you want the best chance of eliminating critters of all kinds, leave it to the pros!