Indoor Air Quality: Can Your Home Pass The Test?
The air quality in your home is affected by a number of variables. Depending on the need, there are also a variety of air purification and treatment techniques that can have a big impact. The best first step in improving your air quality for your family is calling a HVAC professional trained in air quality issues to assess what is in your air and the degree of concern. Once that is done, an effective strategy can be developed specifically for your home.
Studies show most Americans spend about 90% of their time indoors. That’s significant in that according to the United States’ E.P.A., levels for many pollutants often are five to ten times higher indoors as compared to outdoors.
Asthma & Allergies
Children, the elderly, and even healthy adults can experience fatigue, nausea, headaches, scratchy throats, nasal irritation or worse from indoor air pollutants. Indoor air pollutants can also trigger allergic reactions asthma attacks and other irritations.
Indoor Air Quality: Where The Problem Starts
“New building methods and energy saving doors and windows feature tighter construction, eliminating drafts and decreasing energy loss,” says Richards. “This construction keeps out fresh air and traps pollutants inside and over time, the pollutants continue to accumulate and increase in intensity, sometimes making adverse reactions of the home occupants more intense.”
Some of the common problems around your home:
- Bathrooms - mildew, bacteria, viruses, household cleaners
- Living Areas - tobacco smoke, carpeting, furniture
- Bedrooms - dust mites, pet dander
- Attic - asbestos, dust, formaldehydes
- Kitchen - formaldehydes, carbon dioxide
- Garage - carbon monoxide, paints, solvents
- Yard - pollen, herbicides, pesticides
Can You Fix Your Air?
There are a number of great products available to use in improving air quality, however, before you can work toward correcting any issues in your home, you must understand what problems exist in your home. “We now have an Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Monitor that measures air quality 24 hours a day, so in a short time we can pinpoint what contaminants are in your air,” says Richards.
Contaminants Tested for Include:
- Carbon Monoxide
- Carbon Dioxide
- Air Particulates
- Chemicals
- Humidity Levels
- Temperature
Where You Can Start
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there are three main approaches to improving indoor air quality: source control, improved ventilation and air cleaning.
Source Control: Source control refers to removing the source of the pollutant from the home. Examples include not smoking indoors and removing animals, plants, unused solvents and paint thinners.
Ventilation: Ventilation is a key in decreasing pollutants that are generated inside the home. New construction techniques utilizing energy efficient windows and doors, extra caulk and weatherstripping, house wraps, sealants and additional insulation all lead to decreased movement of outside air through the home. According to the EPA, the lack of airmovement through homes can lead to a buildup of toxic pollutants that can have concentrations up to a hundred times greater inside a home than outside.
Air Cleaning: Air cleaners and filters are a vital part of the solution for poor indoor air quality. These cleaners remove the particulate matter that remains airborne after source control and ventilation have failed.
