Indoor Air Quality Explained
The indoor air quality of your business or home is essential because it’s going to help you avoid illness and make sure that you and your family are a whole lot more comfortable. If you can improve your air quality you’ll be able to improve your life. On the other hand, if you allow the air quality in your space to become low quality you could find yourself sick more often. Or you might find that your employees are calling out sick even more frequently. So, what can you do to improve your air quality?
What is Indoor Air Quality?
Indoor air quality is the cleanliness of the air inside of a building or home. The better the air quality is the better the air is for you to breathe and that means you’re going to be less likely to suffer from health problems (though air quality doesn’t protect you from all health problems). When you improve the air quality you’re going to feel better and you’re actually going to be better. And you may not even realize it until the air quality improves.
What Happens With Poor Air Quality?
If you have poor air quality there are a number of different things that could go wrong. You might notice a number of different health problems that you may or may not have associated with your air quality. But things like the list below could occur because of lack of air quality:
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Eye irritation
- Nose irritation
- Throat irritation
- Respiratory disease
- Heart disease
- Cancer
By keeping your home free of some of the more common contaminants you’re going to set yourself and your family on a path toward preventing many of these things. Of course, it’s important to keep in mind that these conditions can occur for a number of different reasons and indoor air quality may have nothing to do with it or may only be a part of it.
Common Air Quality Pollutants
When it comes to the things that can hurt your air quality there are actually quite a few to look out for. You’ll want to be aware of:
- Fuel-burning appliances
- Tobacco products
- Old, crumbling asbestos
- New upholstery and carpeting
- Pressed wood
- Household cleaning products
- Central heating and cooling devices
- Excess moisture
- Outdoor air pollution that are brought in by ventilation systems
- Pesticides that are carried in on clothes and shoes
- Bacterial and viral contaminants transmitted by visitors
If you’re trying to improve the air quality in your home you want to watch out for all of these things because each one could put your family at risk. Of course, some may be more serious than others, but all of them can be improved in some similar ways.
Ways to Improve Common Air Quality Problems
The truth is, there are plenty of things that you can do to improve your air quality and make sure that you are keeping your house and your family as safe as possible.
- Monitor outdoor air quality before opening any indoor/outdoor ventilation
- Swap fuel-burning appliances for electric appliances
- Do not allow smoking or tobacco products in your home
- Air out new upholstery and carpeting before bringing into your home
- Ventilate your home when using household cleaning products
- Clean your clothes or remove clothes that may come into contact with pesticides and outdoor contaminants
- Improve ventilation throughout your home through your HVAC system, fans or opening windows and doors to reduce spread of bacterial and viral contaminants
How is My Indoor Air Quality?
Now that you know all of the different things that can happen if you have poor air quality and all of the different things that can get into your home, you probably want to know more about the air quality in your home. Well, there are several things that you can do to make sure that your air quality is good.
Home Air Quality Test – If you want to check the air quality in your home you can actually buy tests online that will allow you to do so. These tests are inexpensive and provide you with a good reading of what the quality of your home actually is. There are actually monitors that you can install to continuously check the air quality and let you know if there is any level of pollution.
Mold Test – If you’re specifically worried about mold there are tests available that will allow you to check for mold in the air. Because mold can cause so many different health problems you want to make sure that you can detect it as quickly as possible and get a professional Air Conditioning Repair Denver CO to remove the mold before it gets even worse.
Carbon Monoxide Alarm – These should be standard in any home or business. They let you know if there is any detectible level of carbon monoxide in the building, which can be extremely dangerous or even deadly. You want to have these throughout the building to make sure your entire family is safe.
Radon Test – This is another important chemical to keep an eye out for. You want to know that your family or your customers are safe and protected in case there’s ever a radon leak. These tests are also inexpensive and easy to conduct within any building.
Hire a Professional – You can also hire a professional to come into your home and make sure that you don’t have chemicals or mold or anything else getting into your home. They can also help you figure out how to improve the ventilation that you currently have to reduce the risk of other contaminants.
You can:
- Conduct an air quality test
- Conduct a mold test
- Install a carbon monoxide alarm
- Conduct a radon test
- Hire a professional
Taking Care of Your Indoor Air Quality
Monitoring the indoor air quality – IAQ of your home will be a great step in the right direction to protecting your family from harmful chemicals as well as deadly diseases and everything in between. All you have to do is make sure you’re trying out the right options.Gateway Mechanical
