Home Air Purification System Installation – Boost Air Quality in Your Home

When we hear the word “air pollution”, we usually think of smog, car and truck emissions, as well as the smoke billowing out of factories. However the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggests that we may have been looking in the wrong places. Research has discovered that indoor air is often two to five times more polluted than outdoor air, and can be up to 1,000 times more contaminated in extreme cases. Given that many of us spend up to 90% of our time indoors, the health risks associated with poor indoor air quality far surpass the risks related to outdoor air contamination.

This is an issue that concerns us all. The first step is awareness of the risks and common causes of indoor air quality problems. Fortunately, prevention of indoor air quality problems and treatment to remove indoor air contaminants are easy and economical. Your home can have clean, safe air.

Not surprisingly, many of the recently identified risks associated with poor indoor air quality have accompanied technical advances in our society. Improved building techniques and society’s concern for energy efficiency have resulted in major improvements in draft-proofing and air-tight housing. Modern homes retain and re-circulate indoor air for longer periods, along with any contaminants that may be present, including dust mites, mold spores, pollen, pet dander, fumes from cleaning chemicals, and smoke. The ratio of ‘fresh’ outdoor air entering our homes has been greatly reduced, allowing contaminants to accumulate to unsafe levels.

At the same time, building materials including synthetic carpets, pressed woods with high amounts of glue, insulation, petroleum-based glues and adhesives, plastic laminates, and a wide range of other products, are being implicated in the off-gassing of volatile organic compounds and other chemicals which in turn have been blamed for health conditions ranging from allergies and chronic respiratory irritation to cancer. The increased use of these materials, as well as the inability for these chemicals to escape the air-tight building envelope are leading to a near epidemic increase in chemical sensitivities and allergies. A wide range of potentially debilitating health problems including headaches, chronic fatigue, drowsiness, difficulty concentrating, and even snoring can often be attributed to poor indoor air quality caused by chemical sensitivities and allergies.

Particulate in Our Indoor Air

Minute, invisible particles in the air are a primary threat to health. They evade the body’s filtering mechanisms and penetrate deep into lung tissue; carrying toxic substances that can be absorbed in the body. They trigger the body’s natural defense mechanisms, often provoking an overactive immune response that leads to chronic or acute allergy symptoms.

Common harmful particulate contaminants found in our homes include fine dust, dust mites, pet dander, mold spores, and pollen.

Some allergic reactions are severe – asthma is the best known and one of the most serious. Other allergic conditions are subtle chronic conditions. Runny nose, watery eyes, recurring headaches, lethargy, even snoring can all be symptoms of allergy. Many people endure these conditions, not knowing that they are allergy-related and that prevention is readily available.

Gases in Our Indoor Air

Gases are as much a risk to our health as airborne particles.

Among the greatest concerns to health are the volatile organic compounds, or V.O.C.’s. These gases, up to 500 of them, are dispersed from cleaning solutions, carpets, building materials, plastics, and many chemicals commonly used around the home.

Formaldehyde is the chief concern among the V.O.C.’s, as it is so widely used. Its effects show up normally in itching of the eyes, ears and throat, but it is implicated more seriously as a carcinogen.

Tobacco smoke, radon, and fumes from fuel combustion (from furnaces, gas stoves, and our cars) also invade our homes and are responsible for indoor air quality problems.

What can we do to improve our indoor air quality?

1. Remove the source of contamination – Take steps to reduce the creation of new contaminants in your home by choosing cleaners, building materials and household furnishings carefully. Natural wood products are much healthier choice then man-made materials.
2. Dilute the contamination – Indoor air is typically 2 to 5 times more polluted than outdoor air. A properly designed home ventilation system will exhaust the more polluted indoor air and replace it with the cleaner outdoor air.
3. Filter the contamination – Technical advances in home filtration systems have made huge strides in the past couple of years. Products are now available that are capable of removing 99.98% of all particulate found in the homes air system. With a clean air delivery rate of 1200 these new products do a job 100 times better than the standard 1” filters of old.