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As an average person, you spend as much as 90% of your time indoors. This means that something as simple as your everyday home and work environment can potentially pose enormous health concerns. These familiar places can be a safe haven – or they can be an invisible threat to you and your family’s well being. It is a little known fact that indoor pollution levels can be as much as two to five times higher than those found outside – even in a busy city! Take the initiative to be aware of your most frequent indoor surroundings, and how they can affect your health and the health of your children. There are a few important things you should know about combating this airborne risk. In order to remove airborne
pollutants from your home, you must first educate yourself on which pollutants
cause the most harm, and how these make their way inside to where they can
affect you. Some of the most common, and most harmful are listed below: Secondhand smoke has been proven to contribute to cancer, respiratory infections, and Asthma. According to the American Lung Association, "Secondhand smoke is responsible for between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in infants and children under 18 months of age, resulting in between 7,500 and 15,000 hospitalizations each year, and causes 1,900 to 2,700 sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) deaths in the United States annually." 1 In recent years, action has been taken in some states to eliminate Secondhand Smoke in public buildings. For example, Delaware, New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island prohibit smoking in all private workplaces, restaurants, and bars. Connecticut, Vermont, and Maine prohibit smoking in all restaurants and bars. 2 However, this is not the case in all areas, and these smoking bans do not apply to private homes. If there are smokers in your home, this will affect everyone else in the household. It is strongly advisable to eliminate this source of indoor air pollution. Biological air pollutants, such as mold, bacteria, animal dander, and pollen can also find their way into your home. Mold and mildew can grow in areas with too much moisture buildup. If rooms in your home have higher than 50% humidity, you are at risk. Animal dander is present in your home if you keep indoor pets, such as cats or dogs. The dander is created from the saliva these animals use to clean themselves. Indoor pets are also likely to shed, and airborne fur, hair, and related particles can cause allergic reactions in some people. Combustion products, such as Carbon Monoxide and Nitrogen Dioxide are colorless and odorless, but pose a health risk if they are allowed to build up in the air. Carbon Monoxide and Nitrogen Dioxide are produced by any activity in the home that involves combustion, such as the use of a gas stove. Any household cleaning agents, beauty products, or hobby products containing spray chemicals will wind up polluting your indoor air. The effect this has on what you breathe is intensified when these products are used in confined, inadequately ventilated areas in your home. For more information on the potential pollutants that exist in your home, take the American Lung Association's Clean Air Assessment. What effect can these airborne pollutants have on myself and my family? Any combination of the
previously delineated airborne contaminants can cause Asthma, allergies, and
respiratory problems, as well as diseases such as rhinitis, sinusitis, and
hypersensitivity pneumonitis. More than 20 million Americans live with Asthma,
and it is the most common chronic disorder in children. Poor indoor air quality
is one of the top five environmental risks to health, and air pollution
contributes to lung disease, which is the #3 cause of death in the United
States. It can also cause symptoms you might not normally associate with toxins
from the air. These symptoms include headaches, dry eyes, nasal congestion,
nausea, and fatigue. Once you understand the indoor air pollution risks, what can you do about them? The American Lung Association recommends a three-step process for reduction of indoor airborne contaminants.
Location and removal of
airborne pollutions at the source is always the first and most effective step to
detoxifying the air in your home. Secondly, if there is not enough ventilation
and air circulation in the building, any toxins in the air will be trapped
inside as new ones are created, raising the contaminant levels significantly. A
central ventilation system will go far to this end, but make sure that you
increase air flow temporarily by opening some windows if you are using chemicals
of any kind within your home. According to the American Lung Association, "HEPA Filters are the most efficient mechanical filters for removing small particles which can be breathed deep into the lungs."3 This is in part due to the fact that, unlike electronic or negatively charged air cleaners, they do not have the adverse affect of causing airborne particles to cling to other room surfaces, where they can then be too-easily re-introduced into the air. HEPA Filters are 99.97% efficient at .3 microns and higher. When purchasing your HEPA filter air purifier, keep in mind four important factors that contribute to ensuring that the one you choose performs most effectively for you. These are efficiency, clean air delivery rate, ozone production levels, and certification. Efficiency means how effectively and quickly particles are drawn through the filter. Clean air delivery rate means the volume of air that can pass through the filter in a given time. If this rate is too low, it will not matter if the filter itself is "effective." Ozone generators are sometimes marketed as air cleaners. However, ozone itself is a pollutant that can cause damage to the lungs, chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath, and throat irritation. "Ozone may also worsen chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections."4 Ozone in safe amounts has been proven to have little effect on reducing indoor air contaminants. At Pyramid, "Certified" means that our HEPA filter air purifiers are individually tested to perform at 99.97% efficiency. They do not produce unsafe levels of ozone. They do have UVGI systems to help destroy airborne bacteria and diseases that might otherwise be too small to be caught in the filter, and unlike any other similar product on the market today, the UV lamps in all of our units are installed on the intake (dirty side) of the primary filter to help destroy airborne pathogens but also prevent bacteria and mold growth on the HEPA filters. Learn more about our individual products. Talk to us about how we can help you select the right product for your family. Please visit the links below for more related information on this topic. 1Information from the American Lung Association. For more information on secondhand smoke, click here. 2Information from the American Cancer Society. For more information on statewide smoking bans, click here. 3Information from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For more information on Ozone and its health consequences, click here. 4Information from the American Lung Association. For more information on different types of indoor air cleaners, click here. Related Links: |
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