The average American spends 90% of their time indoors. With this in mind, it’s important to remember that pollution concentration is generally two to five times higher indoors than outside. Indoor pollution leads to a wide range of short-term and long-term health issues. Furthermore, the problem is getting worse due to energy-efficient construction methods that are eliminating natural ventilation in homes. To help you maintain healthy indoor air for your household, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has created guidelines that are updated as new data is revealed.
Immediate and Long-Term Health Effects
The EPA stresses that indoor air quality should not be taken lightly. It can exacerbate symptoms and worsen the underlying issues for people with preexisting health conditions, such as allergies, asthma and other respiratory problems. However, it can affect otherwise healthy people too — both in the short-term and long. Short-term effects can include dizziness, headaches, and fatigue as well as irritation of the eyes, nose and throat. Concerning long-term exposure, research has shown that people are more prone to cardiovascular diseases, respiratory illnesses, various types of cancer and reduced mental health.
Primary Causes of Poor Indoor Air Quality
The indoor air quality of a home is affected by both indoor and outdoor pollution sources. You should be aware of the overall outdoor pollution levels in your area. Be mindful that these tend to fluctuate based on climate conditions, and you may want to take extra precautions if there are direct sources in close proximity to your home. An example would be living on a busy road where there is significant traffic-related pollution.
There are many potential pollution sources within a home. These include household cleaners, burning candles, space heaters and even overwatering your houseplants. Painting a room or purchasing new furniture can lead to volatile organic compounds. Excess moisture can lead to mildew and mold. Tobacco products are certainly harmful to your IAQ, but even your central cooling and heating systems can degrade air quality if they are not properly maintained and cleaned.
Inadequate Ventilation
Even if the outside air is more polluted than you would like, you need that air in order to replenish the air in your home. The air in your home is used and becomes polluted, and those levels of pollution and contamination will continue to rise. Opening a window provides you with natural ventilation, but that is not practical if you are heating or cooling your home. It is therefore necessary to ensure that your mechanical ventilation system is adequate. The EPA recommends an annual inspection of your ventilation system and suggests considering having your duct system cleaned every several years.
Air Cleaning
Be mindful that the air in a home can never be less polluted than the air outside a home without some form of air cleaning or purification. This is the reason that whole-house air cleaning systems are becoming a trend. You can opt for portable air cleaners, but those clean air in a limited area whereas a whole-house system can substantially lower pollution levels from both outdoor and indoor sources. Your system can even have multiple stages focused on particular types of filtering, such as one for combating particulate matter and another for combating bacteria, viruses and so forth.
Dehumidification and Humidification
The EPA also recommends maintaining optimal humidity levels in a home. While your central cooling and heating system does offer some form of humidity control, this may not be enough depending on your home and your climate. Reducing humidity in the summer will not only make you feel more comfortable at a higher temperature but help to avoid mildew and mold. Increasing humidity in winter will not only help you feel warmer at a lower temperature and avoid static electricity but help to avoid irritation of the skin, eyes, nose, throat and mouth that can occur when humidity is low.
Dust Control
The EPA guidelines have entire sections related to dust because dust is not only itself an allergen but a carrier that will exacerbate any other IAQ problems in a home. If there are elevated VOC levels in a home, for instance, dust will trap some of those VOCs and re-emit them over time. Controlling dust levels should be a focal point of a clean home. According to the EPA, extensive dusting should be performed once a week. Rooms should be dusted from top to bottom using a microfiber cloth or similar, and then, carpets and rugs should be vacuumed using a HEPA vacuum bag in order to trap most particulates.
Mildew and Mold
The EPA has entire sections dedicated to mold because it is a prevalent IAQ problem. As mentioned earlier, even overwatering houseplants can lead to mold spores in your air and trapped in your dust. Be mindful that mold spores can be present in your home weeks and even months before there are obvious signs of a mold problem, such as odors and stains. If you suspect you may have a mold problem, it is recommended that you schedule professional testing and correct the issue as soon as possible.
Radon
While carbon monoxide gets a great deal of attention—due to how lethal it can be at excessive levels—radon leads to far more health issues and deaths in America. Radon can seep out of the ground and into a home. When present, levels can fluctuate based on the season, and a radon-free home can suddenly have a radon problem. The EPA recommends professional radon testing every two years. You should schedule your professional radon test at different points in the year, and you should also consider a do-it-yourself radon testing kit so that you can test your home on a more frequent basis.
Stoves, Heaters, Fireplaces and Chimneys
Home appliances have the potential to introduce pollutants. You should target appliances that are environmentally friendly. Be wary of stoves that burn wood and other fuels. While this is not a huge concern in the U.S., it does lead to four million worldwide deaths annually. Unvented space heaters introduce water vapors, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and more. Fireplaces and chimney present potential issues as well and should be well-vented and well-maintained.
Volatile Organic Compounds
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are gases with chemicals that can be detrimental to your health. Paints, stains, paint strippers, household cleaners and pesticides are all common sources of VOCs. Some furnishings can give off VOCs too, which is particularly problematic because that off-gassing can occur for as long as five years.
Maintain Strong Air Quality in Your Home
Fahnestock HVAC has been serving Wichita and the neighboring communities since 1946. That means that our family-oriented company has more than 70 years of experience meeting the indoor air quality needs of area families. Our company is an ACCA member and EPA certified. We are BBB accredited with an A+ rating, and our technicians are NATE certified. At Fahnestock HVAC, we offer a wide range of IAQ-related services, including IAQ testing and the installation, repair and maintenance of air cleaners. We can install, repair and tune-up heating and cooling systems too. We also work with geothermal systems!
