Last week, we talked about how in many cases the air inside the home is typically more polluted and of worse quality than the air outdoors. We also learned that people, on average,
If you would like to breathe substantially cleaner air at a reasonable price, we suggest installation of 5” two-stage, in-line filters such as the one pictured here.
spend about 90 percent of their time indoors. This means that 90 percent of the time, you and your family could be breathing in highly polluted air. This can have health ramifications ranging from mild to severe.
Unfortunately, one of the easiest ways to tell you have poor indoor air quality is by the physical manifestations of that. Is someone in your household always sick? Do you feel fine all day at work only to start to decline, and feel sick at home? If the answer to either of those questions is ‘yes’, you may have highly polluted indoor air and your home is literally making you sick. It doesn’t always take a prolonged exposure to cause health effects. The EPA lists these symptoms that may occur to immediate exposure:
These include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. Such immediate effects are usually short-term and treatable. Sometimes the treatment is simply eliminating the person's exposure to the source of the pollution, if it can be identified. Symptoms of some diseases, including asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and humidifier fever, may also show up soon after exposure to some indoor air pollutants.1
Doesn’t sound pleasant, does it? Sometimes, these symptoms can be mistaken for a cold or other viral infections – but the key difference is that if it is due to poor indoor air – your symptoms will continue for as long as you are exposed to the polluted air in your home. Prolonged exposure can cause serious long-term effects as well. With respiratory diseases, heart disease and cancer topping the list – it is important to understand the seriousness of the situation and take steps to improve the quality of air in your home.
Next week, we will discuss what you can do to improve the indoor air quality in your home.
For more information about Anchor Heating and Air Conditioning – please give us a call at 770-942-2873 or contact us on the web at www.anchorac.com.
Online References:
1https://www.epa.gov/iaq/ia-intro.html