Indoor air quality has a direct impact on your workers' productivity, and there are several things you can do to improve the air quality of your office. However, some of them require you to spend money. Don't want to spend any money? Here are several free things you can do:

1. Encourage employees to put plants in their cubicles.

Some plants have prolific air cleaning abilities, but every plant has at least some effect on the quality of indoor air. Rather than buying special expensive plants for your office, ask your employees to bring plants from home. A plant or two in each cubicle is likely to improve the air a great deal.

2. Wet dust.

Dust contributes to poor air quality. However, the chemicals in many commercial dusting sprays can also have a negative influence on air quality. To remove dust without adding chemicals to your office, try wet dusting. This is free, and you just need a rag and a few splashes of water.

3. Open the windows.

In most cases, outdoor air has a better quality than indoor air. To ventilate the poor quality air out of your office and let the fresh air in, open the windows. This takes mere seconds to do, and it costs nothing. Just remember to close the windows at the end of the day if rain is forecast.

4. Use extractor fans in bathrooms or kitchens.

If your toilet has an extractor fan, make sure that you use it. This pulls the stinky odours out of the toilet and removes it from the building. Remind your staff to use the extractor fan as well by posting a sign next to the switch. Similarly, if you have a kitchen in your office, use the extractor fan in that space as well to remove cooking fumes.

5. Clean the filters in your HVAC system.

Ideally, to help with indoor air quality, you should have your HVAC system serviced on a regular basis, and you should also replace the filters and clean the ducts. However, if those tasks aren't in the budget, you may be able to clean the filter for free. Find the filter on your HVAC unit, remove it, shake out dust and debris (while outside), and then, rinse the filter. Let it dry before replacing it.

For more ideas of free ways to improve the indoor air quality in your office, contact an air quality consultant. They can help you come up with free ideas and help you prioritise what to do when you have a bit more capital to budget toward air quality.