Many parents and homeowners fail to realize that their indoor air quality sometimes threatens their family’s health. One might think that their family is safer at home. But in reality, the air quality inside the house could be the reason certain family members often feel sick.
What Affects Indoor Air Quality
The quality of air inside your home can sometimes be more toxic than the air outside. We often think outdoor air is unhealthy since it can be heavily polluted by different things, like smoke from factories and cars. Inside the house, we tend not to notice indoor air pollution since some pollutants are too tiny for the naked eye to see.
Different things can pollute indoor air quality. Just because you don’t see smoke does not already mean there is no pollution inside your home. Here are some usual sources of indoor air pollution.
- Building materials constantly releasing harmful chemicals
- Artificial cleaners and air fresheners
- Wood-burning stove
- Tobacco smoke
- Fireplaces and chimneys
- Pesticides
- Dust, mold, and mildew
- Viruses and bacteria
- Pets and pests
How Indoor Air Pollution Impacts Family Health
High levels and long-term exposure to indoor air pollution can cause negative effects on your family’s health. We need to remember that babies, young children, and people with existing heart and lung conditions will have more severe symptoms after being exposed to long-term indoor pollution. Some of the symptoms associated with indoor air pollution are as follows.
- Allergies
- Coughing
- Dizziness
- Eye, nose, throat, and skin irritation
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Hypersensitivity
- Nausea
- Sinus congestion
- Sneezing
- Shortness of breath
Babies and young kids are still continuously developing their lungs and immune system. They also breathe faster than adults. This makes them more at risk of suffering from the symptoms of poor indoor air quality.
People with lunch and heart conditions can be at risk of developing asthma. If your indoor air quality is poor, and they get exposed to this often, they can develop allergies, asthma, and pneumonia, to name a few. Even older adults are at risk since their bodies can no longer compensate due to their lower defenses.
Protecting Your Family Against Indoor Air Pollution
Thankfully, there are things you can do to avoid indoor air pollution from ruining your family’s health. Here are five examples of ways you can do this.
Invest in Regular Home Maintenance
How you maintain your home can greatly affect indoor air quality. You can want to make sure you keep up with certain maintenance projects not to invite air pollution in your living space. This includes hiring the pros to do certain tasks for you.
For one, invest in air duct cleaning services to ensure your vents are free from common air pollution. Dust, pollen, pet dander, molds, virus, and bacteria could be lurking in your vents. You can reduce air pollution by making sure these areas are always clean and
The same goes for other services like coil cleaning, dryer vent cleaning, and air purification services. These ensure that whatever indoor air pollutants could be hiding in your systems are taken care of. You can remove harmful air pollutants from your home, keeping your family from breathing in harmful pollutants.
Be Wise When Building or Improving Your Home
The materials we use to build and improve our homes can contribute to indoor air pollution. We need to be careful when building and renovating the house or risk our family’s health. As much as possible, avoid using harmful materials when building the house.
Here are other tips to bear in mind.
- Replace carpets with wood or tile flooring solutions
- Choose materials with low to no volatile organic compound (VOCs)
- Use natural cleaning supplies instead of artificial cleaners
- Keep all rooms well-ventilated, especially the kitchen and bedroom
- Fix water leaks asap
- Go for expert mold remediation and pest control
Mind Your Habits
It also helps that you adopt healthier habits to avoid indoor air pollution. If a smoker is visiting or reading with you, ban smoking inside the house. Give pets regular baths, especially if they often spend time playing outdoors.
Keep doormats clean to reduce pollutants found in dirty shoes from entering the house. Skip fires to heat your home. Also, consider investing in an air purifier.
The last thing you want is for your family’s health to suffer because of indoor air pollution. Know that there is so much you can do to stop this from happening. Educate yourself on how real indoor air pollution can be and start nurturing good indoor air quality with the help of this guide.
Meta title:On Family Health: Reducing the Burden of Indoor Air Pollution
meta desc: You do everything you can to ensure your family stays safe and healthy. But what if your home’s indoor air quality stops you from enjoying a healthy life?
