Believe it or not, the air inside modern homes can be upwards of five times more contaminated than outside air. When you also take into account that we can spend up to ninety percent of our lives indoors, the term sick building syndrome should require little explanation.
Unlike outdoor air, inside air is recycled over and over with pollutants like tobacco smoke, pollen, mold, dust and pet dander all adding towards allergy induced asthma and allergies.
Other symptoms of sick building syndrome include dizziness, head aches, tickly throats, sinus congestion, itchy or watery eyes, sickness, lethargy and an lack of concentration. Certain immediate effects are similar to those from colds or other viral diseases, so it is often hard to determine if the symptoms are a result of exposure to indoor air pollution.
If you notice that the symptoms lessen or even vanish when you are outside, it is a strong possibility that poor air quality inside your home is the problem. If that is the case, there are some things that you can do to all but get rid of the potential causes and breathe a little easier.
Here are several tips for improving inside air quality in your house.
Do Not Smoke Indoors
Even though this may sound obvious, you should effectively ban smoking within your home or at least restrict it to one room. In our case, any friends or family that visit are limited to the kitchen area or the back garden if they want to smoke. In the kitchen, an extractor fan drives the smoky air outside as it does with cooking smells.
Ventilate Regularly
Weather permitting, you should open windows and doors in order to lower the concentrations of indoor pollutants while allowing outdoor air to come in. If you have bathroom or kitchen extractor fans, use them on a regular basis. You should also routinely clean the vents in the extractors and make sure they work correctly.
Throw Those Chemical Cleaners
If you have ever taken the time to interpret the labels on household cleaning products, most of them will include a warning about how harmful the chemicals are for your health or skin. Each time you use that product, fumes from whatever is in the bottle get released into the air for you to breathe in. I have quite often started coughing after spraying counter tops with so called anti-bacterial cleaner. Personally, I have taken the enviromentally friendly route to home cleaning. Baking soda, washing soda crystals, white vinegar and pure lemon juice will work wonders for most cleaning tasks. They are not only cheaper but they also do not release any toxic fumes into your house.
Keep you House Clean and free of dust
Hoovering your carpets and floors regularly will help to keep dust and airborne allergens at bay. It is said (although I have no proof) that some seventy percent of all household dust is composed of dead skin, which we humans shed day in and day out. Dust mites in turn feed upon this dead skin that falls from our bodies. They then grow and shed their own skin and it is this together with their feces that causes allergic reactions in people.
Pet Dander Allergies
For those folks with a cat, dog or other pet, allergies such as asthma attacks can be set off by their dander, which they shed day in and day out. Something needs to be done if you suspect that either you or another family member are allergic to pet dander. Ideally, it is best to keep pets out of the home completely although that is rarely possible. As a viable alternative, try and restrict the rooms that the pet is allowed into. One definite area to keep them out of is the bedroom.
Reduce Indoor Air Humidity
Living in a damp climate or an area of high humidness can both result in moisture levels in the house increasing dramatically. A consequence of excessive moisture is the growth of mold and mildew. For anybody with extreme allergic reactions, mold spores are as bad, if not worse, than dust. Dehumidifiers can be a godsend in a humid environment because they are able to remove excess moisture from the surrounding air, thereby keeping mold and the resulting spores at bay.
Get an Indoor Air Purifier
Home air purifiers are units that clean indoor air of allergens, such as mold spores, pollen and pet dander. They are especially useful if you or a family member suffers from allergic reactions or asthma because they can reduce airborne contaminants by a considerable amount. Air purifiers and room air cleaners are rapidly increasing in popularity because they make indoor air healthier and cleaner. However, there are different types of air purifier, some of which can actually make allergies worse instead of better.
