Studies have shown that more people breathe more indoor air than they do outdoor air.  Lots of people are concerned about the air quality outside of their home.  When many people spend 90% of their days inside.  This would mean that they are being exposed more to indoor air than they are outside air.  Meaning that indoor air quality may be more important to your health than outdoor air quality. 

Air pollutants inside your home can be 2-5 times higher than outside.  

With building materials and building methods becoming more efficient there is less ventilation in homes.  Everything has a better seal, and there is more insulation throughout homes that stops the outside air from coming in, but in return stops the inside air from ventilating out.  This increased insulation leads to a lower air exchange, which can cause pollutants indoors to build up.  

 

Causes Of Indoor Air Pollution

Indoor pollutants can come from a number of things.  Fine particles can occur from burning fuels, or burning candles.  Cooking or dust on surfaces can also cause fine particles in your home. 

Toxic gasses can build up in homes such as carbon monoxide, or radon gas. 

Home cleaners, beauty products, paints, lacquers, pesticides, and disinfectants all have chemicals in them that when trapped in your home can build up and be harmful to your health. 

Building materials can have asbestos, formaldehyde or lead in them.  Though those are less common in new building materials older homes can still pose some threat to asbestos and lead. 

Off-gassing can occur with mattresses, carpets, and new clothing. 

Allergens such as dust, pollen, grains, pet dander, and smoke can also cause poor air quality in your home. 

If you don’t have a pet your house may still have pet dander, or pet hair in it.  This is because if you go to a friend’s house with a pet, you are likely to bring pet hair or dander home on your shoes and clothing.  

 

Pollutants Can Damage Your Health

If the air quality is bad in your home it can cause lung damage.  Breathing in air is all done with the lungs.  If the air quality is bad continuously it is increasingly difficult on your lungs.  Breathing in polluted air can lead to premature death with heart and lung diseases, nonfatal heart attacks, irregular heartbeat, asthma, decreased lung function, and respiratory problems.  

 

Tips To Improve Indoor Air Quality

There are a number of things you can do to help improve your air quality in your home. 

The first one is to ventilate when you can.  Open the windows regularly.  If you live in a place where air quality is bad during the day, then open your windows at night.  During times of the year when air quality is bad like pollen season, that is the time to keep your windows shut. 

When doing crafts, decorating, or cleaning make sure your home has proper ventilation during those projects. 

Reduce pollution sources.  Change your gas stove to not put off as much emissions.  Change your cleaners you are using.  Both of these can eliminate sources of pollutants you are putting into your air. 

Invest in radon or carbon monoxide detectors.  These will help you check the level for these two gasses in your home. 

Don’t smoke indoors. 

Make sure you keep your house dry and dust free.  Moisture and dust are the breeding ground for mold.  Change your air filter once a month.  If your house has terrible air quality there are air purifiers that you can buy.  

 

Indoor Air Quality Is Important

Half of the air that people intake is air from indoors.  More people breathe more air indoors than they do outdoors.  Many people are unaware that indoor air pollution can be 2-5 times worse than outdoor air pollution. 

Less ventilation in homes can cause pollutants to build up which can be hard on our lungs and cause serious health risks if we aren’t aware.  

 

 

 

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