Believe it or not, the air within modern homes can be upwards of five times more contaminated than outside air. When you also consider that we can spend up to ninety percent of our lives indoors, the term sick building syndrome should need little explanation.
Inside pollutants such as dust, pet dander, tobacco smoke, mold spores and pollen tend to be continually recycled which ultimately means that sufferers of allergy induced asthma are making their complaint worse by being inside.
Other symptoms of sick building syndrome include dizziness, headaches, tickly throats, stuffy nose, itchy or watery eyes, sickness, lethargy and an inability to concentrate. Certain immediate effects are akin to those from colds or other viral diseases, so it is frequently hard to determine if the symptoms are a result of exposure to indoor air pollution.
If you find that the symptoms fade when you outside, you should try to discover inside air sources that may be possible causes and try to get rid of them. As luck would have it, indoor air pollution is one health hazard that you can do something about.
Here are seven tips for improving interior air quality in your home.
No Smoking Indoors
Although this may sound obvious, you should effectively ban smoking inside your home or at the least restrict it to one room. In our case, any friends or family that call 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
Provided that it is not freezing cold or blowing a gale outside, let some outdoor air in by opening up your windows and doors every so often. Doing so will also get rid of some of the pollutants that have built up within your house. If you have bathroom or kitchen extractor fans, make use of them regularly. You should also routinely clean the vent-hole in the extractors and make sure they work properly.
Use Natural House Cleaning Products
If you have ever taken the time to interpret the labels on household cleaning products, the majority of them will include a warning about how bad the chemicals are for your health or skin. As soon as you use that product, a lot of those chemicals go into the air, the fumes of which are inhaled. I have quite often started coughing after spraying counter tops with so called anti-bacterial cleaner. Not anymore though, as my natural housecleaning products of choice are bicarbonate of soda, washing soda, vinegar and pure lemon juice. These are all non toxic, environmentally friendly and can tackle the majority of housecleaning chores, either singly or combined with one another.
Clean and Dust Your Home On A Regular Basis
Even though it may appear obvious to some folks, regularly vacuuming your carpets and flooring can go a long way in controlling airborne allergens and dust. It is claimed (although I have no proof) that around seventy percent of all household dust is composed of dead skin, which we humans molt all the time. 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 some folks.
Pet Dander Triggers Allergic Reactions
If you have a family pet, they will molt dander that can spark allergic reactions and asthma attacks. If you think that you or a family member may be allergic to your family pet, action is needed. The ideal solution is to keep pets out of the home altogether. If that is not a feasible choice, you should restrict the number of rooms that the pets are permitted to go into and definitely keep them away from the bedroom.
Reduce Inside Air Humidity
Living in a rainy clime or an area of high humidness can both result in moisture levels in the home rising dramatically. This excessive moisture or humidness is the ideal breeding ground for mold. For anybody with allergies, mold spores can cause as many health problems as airborne dust. Dehumidifiers can be a godsend in a humid environment because 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 are units that clean indoor air of allergens, such as mold spores, pollen and pet dander. They are especially useful if you or a family member suffers from allergies or asthma since they can reduce airborne contaminants by a considerable amount. Indoor air purifiers have become very popular of late because they are able to clean the air in your home while making it a lot healthier to inhale. Nevertheless, there are various types of air purification technologies, some of which may not be suitable in all situations.
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