With all the fragrances and scents on the market to make your home smell great, I know it’s easy to forget your indoor air quality. The quality of the air inside your home is important because it impacts three areas: you comfort, home and health.
For example, dry air can cause your walls to crack and your wood floors to separate. Too much humidity can make the air feel warmer than what it is (and you know in Lubbock it’s hot enough already). Air quality can also affect your health causing symptoms like headaches or aggravating medical conditions such as asthma.
Now that I’ve discussed a little bit about the effects of bad air in your home, I want to talk about four common indoor air quality problems. Unfortunately, you can’t see many of these contaminants.
· Biological Pollutants
Biological pollutants include things such as mold, pet dander, pollen, bacteria and dust mites.
· Dust
Thicker air filters can help reduce this problem.
· Combustion Toxins
Typically combustion pollutants come from things using fuel, gas, oil, wood or coal to operate. They include furnaces, water heaters, stoves, heaters and even fireplaces. You may be familiar with some of the most dangerous combustion toxins called carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Indoor air quality with too much of these gases can kill you.
· Tobacco Smoke
You probably know about the dangers of smoking, but tobacco smoke is another common problem affecting your home’s air quality. Some of the poisons including carbon monoxide and formaldehyde and chemicals stay in the air.
· Pesticides and Chemicals
Pesticides you use every day to control or eliminate pests such as mosquitoes and roaches can stay in your air long after the pests are gone. Even the household chemicals you use to freshen up your home can cause poor indoor air quality.
The cause of “bad air” inside your home is typically poor ventilation. What makes the poor air quality in your home worse is increased humidity. High humidity multiplies the contaminants already in your home. So while you think you’re enduring a little humidity during the summer, you actually inhaling many of the common problems affecting the indoor air.
invest in an air cleaner to eliminate those common air problems.