Indoor Air Quality
Improve Your Indoor Air Quality
The key to improving indoor air quality is to eliminate sources of pollution. We can achieve this in a number of ways.
- Bring in fresh air from outdoors with an effective ventilation system.
- Pollutants and dust can only be trapped by changing filters.
- Humidity should be maintained.
- Basic acceptable standards have been set and should be followed.
- The purpose of the standards set is to provide for minimally acceptable indoor air quality.
Ventilation was never a concern in the past because we were getting the optimum amount of fresh air to survive. With more high-rise buildings and commercialization, people started spending 90 percent of their time indoors, resulting in the building of tighter duct systems to save energy. This raised concerns about air contaminants indoors. Hence, the need to ensure there is an excellent indoor air quality.
Have You Ever Thought About What You Are Breathing? Is Your Home Making You Sick?
- The build-up around your bathroom fixtures is the primary cause of respiratory and allergic reactions.
- Materials from buildings, furniture, equipment in the office, repellents, room fresheners, laundry, paints and lacquers, cleaning supplies, varnishes, waxes, pesticides, and a variety of other products have volatile organic compounds.
- Asthma attacks are mainly stimulated by biological debris, dust mites, and pet dander – which are a significant source of respiratory irritants.
- There are combustion pollutants that are emitted from improperly vented or unvented appliances that are fuel-burning. Namely, space heaters, wood stoves, gas stoves, water heaters, dryers, and fireplaces.
Growing concern about energy costs, security issues, noise pollution, and dirty air from outside have led to more significant concerns for residents. Studies confirm the fact that human exposure to indoor air pollutants may be higher than outdoor levels.
Many people complain regarding building-related health concerns and may have developed building-related illnesses. This does not mean immediate changes required in building practice, but the standard expectation of residential ventilation has been set. Now that it is widely known that indoor air quality can be worse than outside, engineers have figured out a solution to reduce indoor air pollutants.