10 Mar Indoor Air Pollution

You can usually tell if your indoor air quality is poor if someone in your home suffers from allergies.  Sometimes, it’s more difficult to discern.  Indoor air pollution stems from several factors, including the state of your home’s air conditioning system, but some combustible factors also contribute to this pollution and include the presence in the home of oil, gas, kerosene, coal, wood, tobacco, asbestos-containing insulation, wet or damp carpets.  The long-term presence of these in the home can lead to irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat and promote headaches, dizziness, and fatigue.  Some possible long-term effects of continuous indoor air pollution caused by prolonged exposure to combustible items include respiratory disease, heart disease, and cancer.

That said, it’s obvious that avoiding indoor air pollution leads to healthier living for all within the home.  When servicing your home AC system, it’s essential to be proactive and diligent with regard to duct cleaning, which includes three basic steps:

1. Openings in the air duct system permit unwanted contaminants to enter the home, allow conditioned air to escape (wasting energy), and creates more work for both the air and heating systems.Evaporator coil cleaning
2. Fresh duct treatment
3. Microbiocide treatment

To promote healthy air within the home, seal holes near plumbing and lighting fixtures by using wood or caulking to fill these openings, keep humidity down, and save energy by being mindful of using appliances during off-peak hours (at night).  Assure insulation within the home meets industry standards and test indoor air quality.  Reducing alter chemical use, implementing sophisticated furnace filters, and installing electronic air cleaners also help.

Going a step further, you can spend funds to promote healthier air quality within the home by investing in ultraviolet lights, which retard or cancel out the growth of mold, mildew, and bacteria within the home, thereby increasing the life of your home’s air conditioning system.  Also, air filters and filtrations systems are other advanced technology systems that trap contaminants before they reach the home.  These are especially good for allergy sufferers, as they reduce allergy-causing contaminants in the air.  Additionally, implementing zoning systems, not central air conditioning systems, create equilibrium within the home and improve air quality throughout the home.  Some other cost-effective technology systems to improve air quality in the home consist of utilizing dehumidifiers, which also help prevent the build-up of contaminants within the home, and platinum PCO systems, which removes toxins and are similar to the effects of your car’s catalytic converter system.

You can also do a number of routine things to promote the quality of the air inside your home:

• Open windows to ventilate the home.
• Place houseplants throughout the home.
• Take off your shoes when entering the home.
• Vacuum more frequently.
• Maintain a healthier and cleaner lifestyle by not smoking.
• Remove toxic chemicals from the home.
• Be mindful of grooming products that promote health.
• Purify the air through the use of fans and removing dust by cleaning often