Indoor Air Quality Smarts For You And Your Home

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Indoor Air Quality Smarts For You And Your Home

by Broderick Perkins

http://realtytimes.com/rtcpages/20051005_indoorair.htm

By now you know smoking ruins the air in your home and can render it

fatal to some. And even though you probably don't always follow the

advice you know you are supposed to wash all your bedding and

blankets at least once a week in hot water to kill dust mites.

But do you know many of those popular air " fresheners " are actually

air polluters, that you should let dry-cleaned items air out for a

few days before bringing them inside your home and that some

air " cleaners " actually emit ozone, a potent lung irritant?

Bad indoor air quality at home can ruin your day, not to mention

your quality of life -- especially if you have asthma or allergies --

but you can easily clean it up with a few lifestyle changes.

There is help.

A new Internet-powered assessment can give your home's air quality

the once over and let you take a test to determine if you are taking

the necessary steps to improve the air you breathe most.

The American Lung Association's new online Indoor Air Quality

Assessment and its partner Test Your IAQ Knowledge exam are two of

the latest examples of how the Internet's information technology can

ferret out specific information tailored to meet household needs.

Indoor Air Quality Assessment

The lung association's air quality assessment walks you through a

series of questions designed to create a sort of air quality profile

of your home based on its age, type of home, location and your

living habits.

Chances are, the assessment will confirm information you already

have, but it's just as likely it will unearth clean air facts you

missed.

For example:

You may need to change the way you clean. Dust mites are everywhere

and they trigger allergic reactions from sneezing to asthma attacks.

A central vacuum cleaner vented to the outdoors is best, but a

vacuum cleaner with a microfilter bag or High Efficiency Particulate

Air (HEPA) filter helps remove allergens too. When possible, swap

out washable reusable heating and air conditioning filters for

washable electrostatic filters that are more effective at capturing

small particles that can get trapped in your lungs. Wash the filter

at least monthly, more frequently for high pollution conditions,

say, during building construction or renovation.

Hard surface floors like wood, tile or linoleum are easier to clean

than carpeted floors. Real hard wood flooring is a better deal --

when it comes to breathing easy -- than engineered wood products

used in flooring which can contain volatile organic compounds

(VOCs).

Paint and use other finishing products with reduced or no VOCs will

lower the amount of chemical emissions introduced into the home.

Wool or feather stuffed bedding attracts more dust mites than

synthetics. Damp mopping or using a damp cloth to clean hard

surfaces at least once a week is a better approach than " dusting "

which just stirs up the mites and other particles.

From cleansers to pet shampoos, some household cleaners leave behind

harmful chemicals or give off gases that can irritate or harm your

lungs. Read the small print on lables before purchasing any

household chemical, including health and beauty products and

air " fresheners. " If it has an Environmental Protection Agency

number, the product is classified as a pesticide but that doesn't

mean it's safe. Labels like " organic " and " natural " do not mean a

product is safe for everyone.

The best way to freshen air is to clean up the source of odors and

ventilate, such as running bathroom exhaust fans. Add ventilation

when you use household products indoors. Run fans that exhaust to

the outside, such as those in the kitchen or bath, or open windows

and place window fans to the blow air out.

Relative humidity higher than 50 percent helps not only mold and

dust mites thrive, but cockroaches too.

All combustion appliances that burn gas, oil or wood emit carbon

monoxide and other dangerous gases. Properly installed appliances

vent the fumes outside, but you should have a carbon monoxide

detector in your home, like smoke alarms, installed as close to

sleeping areas as possible.

With some pointed questions, the lung association's assessment

also " checks " your home for radon, ozone emitting air " cleaners " and

lead. It explains how to test for radon, suggests avoiding ozone

emitting air " cleaners, " no matter how minute the emissions, and

warns about the dangers of lead, not just in paint in your home but

in soldered items, stained glass making, antique furniture and other

seemingly innocuous items.

Test Your IAQ Knowledge

You can use your assessment to bone up on your indoor air quality

knowledge before taking the test or you can take the test in a

closed-book session to determine what you need to know.

You probably know less than you think.

For example:

The air inside your home, where you spend most of your time, can be

two to five times more polluted than air outdoors.

If someone in your family has allergies or asthma, it's important to

encase their mattress and pillows in dust proof or allergen

impermeable covers and replace wool or feather-stuffed bedding

materials with synthetic materials.

Dust mites feed on skin flakes. Clean up one yuck and you get the

other.

Don't be so quick to turn off that noisy exhaust fan in the bathroom

or kitchen. It helps remove both moisture and air pollutants.

Install a quiet, low-energy model.

Adding a whole-house air filtration and ventilation system (like the

so-called Energy Recovery Ventilator) is like giving your home a set

of lungs. The system provides your home -- the hearth -- with a

continuous supply of fresh, filtered air.

Published: October 5, 2005