IAQ Problems

The Indoor Air Quality Problem: Breathe Easy Toward a Better Health

This indoor air quality subject of discussion has come to extreme importance during the recent past. For a pretty long period, air pollution was considered to be an outdoors' issue. However, little did people know that the air inside the homes, offices, and even schools could be even more polluted. The possible health effects of poor indoor air quality are numerous and poor indoor air quality also causes a decrease in productivity as well as the exacerbation of other health conditions. In this regard, the individual should be enlightened on why the quality of indoor air may become of importance in the production of a healthy environment that one may wish to live or work in.

 What Is Indoor Air Quality?

This term Indoor Air Quality actually refers to the nature of air within buildings and other structures, especially in aspects related to the health and comfort of its occupants. It includes several factors-that range from pollutants, ventilation, humidity, temperature, even the functionality of indoor plants. The most common indoor air pollutants include VOCs, mold, dust mites, pet dander, tobacco smoke, carbon monoxide, and many others.

Since almost every person spends all or nearly 90% of his or her lifetime indoors, indoor air must be clean enough to meet health standards.

What Causes Bad Indoor Quality?

Some factors that may contribute to indoor air quality being bad include:

Poor Ventilation: Fresh ventilation is necessary for removing pollutants that have settled in closed environments. In a super-efficient, well-insulated house with sealed windows, pollutants can accumulate fast.

Chemical Emissions: Many of the housekeeping products, such as cleaners or paints, or hygiene products contain VOCs that contribute to indoor air quality degradation. These emissions may occur many years after the product has been used or applied.

Humidity: High humidity also promotes mold and dust mites growth, just a good combination for low-quality indoor air. Lower humidity may cause irritation to the skin and the respiratory system.

Some building materials contain pressed wood products that can give off formaldehyde or VOCs, thus changing the air quality indoors.

Poor maintenance: Failure to replace and clean the HVAC filters, ducts, and the air conditioning system provides immense accumulation of dust, allergens, and pollutants, thus results in reduced overall air quality.

Ways to Improve Indoor Air Quality

Ventilate: Keep your living and work rooms well ventilated. Use windows as much as possible for the proper circulation of air. Install exhaust fans in areas like bathrooms and kitchens where moisture prevails.

Air Purifiers: Invest in the best available air purifiers with HEPA filters that would trap very small particles like dust, allergens, and pet dander.

Clean Dust and Vacuum Dust your home regularly, especially on carpets and upholstered furniture since dust mites accumulate here. When it comes to a house, you can readily remove all the pollutants in your home by vacuuming with a HEPA filtration.

Maintained Humidity: Maintain the indoor humidity below 50% or above 30% by providing dehumidifiers to areas that tend to be damp as this will prevent mold growth and hence reduce counts of allergens.

Low-VOC Products: When purchasing paints, cleaning agents, and furniture, ensure you go for low-VOC or non-toxic marked paints, cleaning products, and furniture products. This would do a lot to minimise the adverse effects of indoor air quality.

Regular Maintenance: You should always be set to schedule regular inspections and cleaning of your HVAC system so it functions at optimal levels in passing air and filtering.

Plants: There are also countless air-purifying indoor plants one can use to promote moisture. Some good examples of these include spider plants, peace lilies, or snake plants that will enhance the decor of your space.