Indoor Air Quality

What Makes Indoor Air So Dirty?

It’s hard to imagine that the air inside the home can be dirtier than outside, but it’s often the case.

While most people think of factory and vehicle emissions as air pollution, they don’t consider pet dander, dust mites, allergens, and bacteria. Nevertheless, indoor air pollution is a significant health risk for many Americans.

So, what makes your indoor air so dirty?

Pets

We love our furbabies; they’re as much a part of our family as our kids. However, pets present problems when it comes to indoor air, one of which is their fur.

When pets shed, their fur and skin cells get into your HVAC system and spread throughout the house.

Cleaning Products

When people regularly come in contact with cleaning products, they are likely to experience headaches, skin irritation, and throat irritation caused by volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Breathing in these VOCs for long periods can cause significant damage to your respiratory system.

Air Fresheners

Air fresheners make your air smell good, but many of these products are terrible for your allergies and breathing. Air fresheners are mainly unregulated and contain the VOCs mentioned above that are known to cause breathing issues and severe allergic reactions.

Mold & Mildew

Biological pollutants such as mold and mildew can trigger hay fever or induce asthma in children.

These are just a few of the many pollutants you can find in your home’s air, so you can see how indoor air quality is often worse than outside.

How to Get Cleaner Indoor Air

Now that you know some of the pollutants you can find inside, here are a few tips to cleaning up the air you breathe.

Control Humidity Levels

High indoor humidity leads to excess moisture which can cause mold and mildew to flourish. An easy way to get humidity levels under control is to install a dehumidifier.

Ventilate Your Kitchen

If you spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking, it’s crucial that you keep the area well-ventilated, especially if you have a gas stove.

Remove Dust

You probably spend a lot of time dusting your furniture and vacuuming the floors to get rid of dust, which is great. However, are you aware there are dust particles in the air that you breathe in every day?

One way to remove airborne dust is to install a filtration system with a HEPA filter.

Don’t Smoke Indoors

Indoor smoke is bad for everyone in the house, and keeping the house ventilated doesn’t do much good. If you eliminate smoking in the house, everyone will see a significant improvement to the air quality and their health.

Avoid Products With VOCs

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are common in aerosol sprays, cleaners, and air fresheners and they’re known to be detrimental to your health. Studies show that VOC levels can be up to five times higher indoors than out.

We have many options to help you clean up the air inside. Call us to learn more.

Our air duct cleaning will improve your household air quality.