Breathe Easier and Improve Your Indoor Air Quality
It’s winter and my house is sealed up tighter than a drum to keep the warm air in and the cold air out. That’s good green parenting, right…or is it? By keeping my family safe and snug inside my modern American home, I may be exposing them to high levels of indoor air pollution. After all, most people spend 80-90% of their time indoors. And while the numbers vary from country to country and state to state, The California Air Resources Board estimates that average indoor air pollutant levels in that state are 25-62% greater than outside levels. These numbers can add up to serious health problems for you and your kids.
What’s Your IAQ? Even if your house is neat as a pin (we’re obviously not talking about my place here) it’s possible that the stuff inside your house is releasing nasty toxins. Combine this with inadequate ventilation (due to rigorous efforts to go green!) and you get a houseful of trapped pollutants and bad indoor air quality (IAQ).
The Worst Offenders: Formaldehyde, benzene, carbon monoxide, and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are the worst offenders to indoor air quality. Unfortunately, these chemicals and gases are emitted from a bunch of stuff around your house, from mattresses to building supplies, paints to mattresses, and even your kid’s toys.
What’s The Problem? Poor indoor air quality can seriously affect your family’s health. The effects of indoor air pollution can range from minor irritations such as runny nose, fatigue, or headache to major illnesses such as lung disease, respiratory infection, lung cancer or asthma.
Improving Your IAQ
Follow these tips to reduce the number and type of chemicals that come into your home so that you and your kids can breathe a little easier:
Buy Green: The best way to improve your indoor air quality is to keep chemicals from coming inside in the first place. Look for non-toxic, green certified products, especially for building materials, paints, dry cleaning, carpets, and furniture. If you do bring home something stinky, be sure to let it air-out outside or near an open window. The bottom line…if a product contains a chemical, or was manufactured with it…that chemical will likely be emitted into the closed quarters of your home.
Clean Green: Are you cleaning your house or loading it with chemicals? Check out these previous posts for more info on green cleaning:
Add Some Green: According to one NASA study, plants can improve indoor air quality, by filtering pollutants, absorbing carbon dioxide, and adding oxygen to the environment. The best plants for improving IAQ are philodendron, spider plants, golden pothos, gerbera daisies, chrysanthemums, peace lily, bamboo palm, and English ivy. (WARNING: If you have a toddler…or an older child who likes to eat everything…steer clear of plants that are considered poisonous if eaten such as philodendron, mums, and English ivy.)
Green Your Green: The chemicals that you use outside of your home (pesticides, fertilizers, de-icers) are likely to make their way inside on shoes and paws. Look for non-toxic versions of these chemicals. (And check out these posts on greening you yard:)
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