Residences today are built with energy efficiency in mind. This involves more insulation and tightly sealed doors and windows to keep energy expenses reasonable. While this is great for your heating and cooling costs, it’s not so good for your indoor air quality.
As air has fewer chances to escape, pollutants can increase and impact your home’s indoor air quality. In reality, your residence’s air can actually be 2–5 times more polluted than the outdoors, according to the EPA. That’s not good for anyone, but it’s specifically detrimental for loved ones with allergies, asthma, other respiratory conditions or heart disease.
Let’s review some of these common substances and how you can boost your home’s indoor air quality.
6 Everyday Pollutants that Impact Indoor Air Quality
When you visualize pollutants, you may think about smog or tobacco smoke. But lots of substances that impact your air quality are normal products. These things have chemicals called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.
They involve:
- Cleaning products, like aerosol sprays, bleach and window cleaner.
- Personal care products, like hairspray, perfume and nail products.
- Candles and air fresheners.
- Formaldehyde, which is frequently used in plastic, foam and particleboard products.
- Furniture, window treatments and carpet, particularly when they’re brand new.
- Paints and stains.
Other typical pollutants include:
- Dust
- Pet dander
- Pollen
- Mold
Symptoms of VOC Exposure
Some people are more influenced by VOCs than others. The EPA says symptoms of VOC exposure involve:
- Irritated eyes, nose or throat
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
In severe instances, the EPA says VOCs can lead to respiratory and heart diseases.
4 Ways to Boost Your Residence’s Indoor Air Quality
It isn’t complicated to boost your house’s air quality. Here are a couple of suggestions from Harvard Medical School:
1. Clean Your Residence Regularly
Routinely cleaning and washing surfaces that attract allergens, such as furniture, carpet and bedding, will help reduce on dust, dust mites and pet dander in your house.
2. Regularly Switch Your Air Filter
This crucial filter keeps your house cozy and air clean. How often you should change your air filter depends on the kind of filter you have. Flat filters should be swapped monthly, while pleated filters should be replaced every three months. If you’re not sure if your filter should be swapped, pull it out and angle it to the light. Replace it if you can’t see light through it.
If someone in your home has allergies or asthma, we advise installing a filter with a better MERV rating. The greater the number this is, the better your filter is at eliminating contaminants.
3. Maximize Natural Ventilation
Keep fresh air in your home by opening windows whenever it’s warm enough. We also advise using exhaust fans in your bathroom and kitchen as much as possible to remove pollutants and introduce more fresh air.
4. Chat Our Indoor Air Quality Pros
From whole-home air purifiers, Golden Seal Service Experts has a fix to help your household breathe more freely. We’ll help you find the right option during your free home comfort assessment. Give us a call at 630-246-2698 to request yours today!