How to Reduce Indoor Air Pollution in Your Home
Believe it or not, the air inside modern homes can be up to five times more polluted than outdoor air. When you also consider that we can spend up to ninety percent of our lives indoors, the term sick building syndrome should require little explanation.
Unlike outside air, inside air is recycled over and over with pollutants like tobacco smoke, pollen, mold, dust and pet dander all adding towards asthma and allergies.
Other symptoms of sick building syndrome include giddiness, headaches, tickly throats, stuffy nose, itchy or watery eyes, nausea, lethargy and an lack of concentration. Certain immediate effects are similar to those from colds or other viral diseases, so it is frequently difficult to determine if the symptoms are a result of exposure to indoor air pollution.
If you notice that the symptoms subside or even vanish when you are outside, it is a strong possibility that poor air quality inside your home is to blame. If that is the case, there are various things that you can do to all but eradicate the potential causes and breathe a little easier.
Here are seven tips for improving inside air quality in your home.
Do Not Smoke Indoors
Even though this may sound obvious, you should effectively ban smoking inside your home or at least restrict it to one room. In our case, any friends or family that visit are restricted to the kitchen area or the back garden if they want to smoke. In the kitchen, an extractor fan drives the smoky air outside as it does with cooking odors.
Let the Bad Air Out
Weather permitting, you should open windows and doors in order to lower the concentrations of inside pollutants while letting outside air to come in. If you have bathroom or kitchen extractor fans, make use of them on a regular basis. You should also routinely clean the vent-hole in the extractors and make sure they function properly.
Chuck Out Those Chemical Cleaners
Pick Out any one of those so called miracle kitchen cleaners from your cupboard and someplace on the label will be a warning as to how dangerous they are to your health. Furthermore, look at what they are made of and see if you can recognize the names of any of the substances in that bottle. In fact, I doubt you will even be able to pronounce the name, let alone know what it is. As soon as you use that product, a lot of those chemicals go into the air, the fumes of which are inhaled. How is it that some well known anti bacterial cleaners start your eyes watering and bring on a coughing fit. Not any longer though, as my natural cleaning products of choice are bicarbonate of soda, washing soda, vinegar and pure lemon juice. These are all non toxic, environmentally friendly and can tackle most cleaning tasks, either individually or mixed with one another.
Clean and Dust Your House Regularly
Even though it may appear obvious to some folks, regularly hoovering your carpets and flooring can go a long way in controlling airborne allergens and dust. Did you know that around 70% of dust inside the home consists of dead skin which we humans continually shed. Dust mites like to feed on this dead skin which in turn makes them grow. They then shed their own skin and that, combined with their fecal matter is what causes allergic reactions in people.
Pet Dander Triggers Allergies
For those families with a cat, dog or other pet, allergies such as asthma attacks can be triggered by their dander, which they shed all the time. If you think that you or a family member may be allergic to your family pet, action is needed. Ideally, it is better to keep pets out of the home altogether although that is rarely possible. As a viable alternative, try and restrict the rooms that the pet is allowed into. One definite area to keep them out of is the bedroom.
Reduce Indoor Air Humidity
Living in a damp climate or an area of high humidness can both result in moisture levels in the home rising dramatically. A result of excessive moisture is the growth of mold and mildew. For anyone with extreme allergic reactions, mold spores are as bad, if not worse, than dust. Dehumidifiers can be a godsend in a humid environment since they are capable of removing excess moisture from the surrounding air, thereby keeping mold and the resulting spores at bay.
Get an Indoor Air Purifier
Home air purifiers or room air cleaners do as their name indicates and clean the air of pollutants and allergens such as mold spores, pollen, cigarette smoke and pet dander. Besides being used to keep down the concentration of these airborne contaminants, they are particularly useful for people who suffer from allergic reactions and asthma. Indoor air purifiers have become very popular over recent years since they are able to clean the air in your home while making it a lot healthier to inhale. However, there are different types of air purification technologies, some of which may not be suitable in all situations.
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