Healthy Air Conditioning

Improve your indoor air quality and health
Breathe easier

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the concentration of toxic compounds inside buildings can actually be many times higher than outdoor pollution levels. Indoor pollution is a major health issue, particularly if you have children or are pregnant. Even if you don’t spend most of your day indoors at home or at an office, improving the air quality of your indoor spaces is essential to your family’s well-being. Here are some strategies to breathe easier and reduce your indoor air pollution.

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What contributes to indoor air pollution?
There are many sources of indoor air pollution, including oil, gas, kerosene, coal, wood, tobacco products, some building materials and furnishings, asbestos-containing insulation, wet or damp carpet, mold, cleaning and personal care products, central heating and cooling systems, humidification devices, and even outdoor sources, such as radon, pesticides, and other outdoor air pollution.

Read on for some simple strategies improve your indoor air quality and also consider these 10 eco-friendly tips to green your home and family.
Tips to improve indoor air quality
With such a long list of sources of indoor pollution, you may be thinking you should live in a tent! Though tearing down your house and replacing all of your furniture is unlikely, you can improve your air quality in other ways.

1. Stop smoking
This is a natural. Not only will you improve your health, you will also eliminate the second-hand impact smoke has on your family members and even your pets.

2. Tend to your carpet.
Never let your carpet stay damp. Mold and other bacteria can grow rampantly in the moist fibers. If you have a water-related accident, have your carpet professionally cleaned and be sure they are completely dried. More important, if your carpet smells of mold, have them replaced.

3. Get radon and carbon monoxide detectors
Toxic gasses can be undetectable. Protect your health by investing in radon and carbon monoxide detectors.

4. Keep your heating and cooling systems in check.
Have your heating and cooling system checked to make sure it is working properly.

Electric heating. Electric heating typically has lower indoor air pollution potential but can dry out the air in your home, which can be hard on your mucus membranes and skin. However, you don’t want to fill your house with humidifiers because an overly moist environment encourages bacterial growth. Buy a hygrometer to check the humidity in your house and aim for a 30 to 50 percent humidity level (use humidifiers sparingly). In addition, keep your heating on a constant low temperature so you aren’t turning it off and on, saving you energy and money.

Gas heating. Gas heaters emit gasses such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen monoxide, and other combustion pollutants. In addition to keeping them well serviced, keep them well ventilated. This is a good place to put your carbon monoxide detector.

Fireplaces. As with your electric or gas heaters, make sure your fireplace is regularly checked and/or cleaned by a professional to ensure it is well-vented.

5. Replace your cleaning and personal care products
The seemingly benign air fresheners, aerosols, and cleaning products you use to keep your home spic-and-span are often the biggest contributors to poor air quality.

Air fresheners. You love inhaling lavender when you need a moment to relax. That warm and spicy cinnamon aroma gives you the warm and fuzzies. And the delicious smell of French vanilla is only a spray away. Unfortunately, synthetic fragrances designed to cover up bad smells also release a chemical that deadens your olfactory nerves. The bad smell doesn’t go away, you just can’t smell it anymore.

A better alternative is to use essential oils in diffusers. Visit the SheKnows.com Shopping Channel for a fragrant selection of essential oils. Use them in reed diffusers, aromatherapy diffusers, candle diffusers, or lamp rings. Essential oil diffusers can be ordered online but they are also available at health food markets, essential oil stores, and eco-friendly outlets.

Aerosol sprays. Aerosol hairsprays and other products in a spray can emit a fine mist that is easily inhaled. Many products also contain CFC’s, which can damage the ozone layer. Opt for pump sprays as an alternative. You can also stock your beauty supply with eco-friendly styling products.

Cleaning products. Despite helping you get your indoor spaces neat and tidy, many cleaning products (or their packaging) contain formaldehyde, PVCs, acrylics, polyethylene, polystyrene, fluorocarbons, polyester, and polyurethane. You can make your own cleaning products with ingredients you probably already have on hand or invest in cleaning products from eco-friendly companies like Seventh Generation and Method.

6. Green your house with plants
House plants can increase the oxygen and humidity levels in your indoor space as well as reduce the chemicals in your air. Certain houseplants are better than others. Consider aloe vera, bamboo palm, Boston fern, dracaena, dwarf banana, English ivy, gerbera, peace lily, rubber plant, and spider plants. In addition to improving your indoor air quality, plants are beautiful and can keep you in touch with nature when you are home or office bound.

7. Open your windows.
Unless you live in a heavily polluted area, try to keep your windows open to improve your indoor ventilation. The concentration of toxic contaminants will keep rising the longer they are contained in a closed space. Fresh air will make you feel better and help filter out the indoor pollution.

The EPA warns that health effects from indoor air pollutants may be experienced soon after exposure or, possibly, years later. From viruses, colds and asthma to respiratory disease, heart disease, and cancer, poor indoor air quality can severely impact your quality of life. Check out the EPA’s The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality for more information and take the steps to breathe easier and improve your health starting today.