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Is the Indoor Air Quality in Your Home

Making Your Family Sick?

All of us face a variety of risks to our health as we go about our day-to-day lives. From driving in cars to being exposed to environmental pollutants, all pose varying degrees of risk.

Some risks are simply unavoidable. Some are risks we might decide to avoid if we had the opportunity to make informed choices.

Indoor air pollution is one risk that you can do something about. That’s good news!

Healthy Indoor Air Quality

In the last several years, a growing body of scientific evidence has indicated that the indoor air we breathe can be more seriously polluted than the outdoor air in even the largest and most industrialized cities.

Other research indicates that people spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors. Thus, for many people, the environmental risks to health may be greater due to exposure to air pollution indoors rather than outdoors.

According to the EPA, indoor air pollution is one of the top four environmental public health risks facing the nation and one of the nation’s most pressing personal health concerns.

In addition, people who may be exposed to indoor air pollutants for the longest periods of time are often those most susceptible to the effects of indoor air pollution. Such groups include the young, the elderly, and the chronically ill, especially those suffering from respiratory or cardiovascular disease.

Multiple Sources of Pollution Within the Home

While pollutant levels from from a single source may not pose a significant health risk, most homes have more than one source that contributes to indoor air pollution.

There can be a serious risk from the cumulative effects of these sources. Studies have not been done to measure the effects of interacting pollutants on human health.

But we do know that one in thirteen school age children now has asthma. Many adults are developing this debilitating disease as well. It has become an epidemic in our society and a major health concern for many families.

Fortunately, there are steps to improve indoor air quality that most people can take both to reduce the risk from existing sources and to prevent new problems from occurring.

What Are the Causes of Indoor Air Problems?

• Indoor pollution sources that release gases or particles into the air are the primary cause of indoor air quality problems in homes.

• Inadequate ventilation can increase indoor pollutant levels by not bringing in enough outdoor air to dilute emissions from indoor sources and by not carrying indoor air pollutants out of the home. Remember, indoor air can be 100 to 1000 times more polluted than outdoor air.

• High temperature and humidity levels can also increase concentrations of some pollutants.

The relative importance of any single source depends on how much of a given pollutant it emits and how hazardous those emissions are.

Pollutant Sources

There are many sources of indoor air pollution in any home.

These include:

• combustion sources such as oil, gas, kerosene, coal, wood, and tobacco products;

• building materials and furnishings as diverse as deteriorated, asbestos-containing insulation, wet or damp carpet, and cabinetry or furniture made of certain pressed wood products;

• products for household cleaning and maintenance,

• products for personal care,

• products used in hobbies,

• central heating and cooling systems and humidification devices;

• outdoor sources such as radon, pesticides, and outdoor air pollution.

Not Fluffy and Fido, Too!

Unfortunately for those of us who are pet lovers, pets both contribute to and suffer from poor air quality inside your home. Their dander can trigger asthma in people, and because they live closer to the floor, pets are exposed to more heavy-metal air pollutants.

Keeping them off furniture and out of where you sleep can lessen their impact on you; reducing the amount of carpeting in your home (where both dander and pollutants settle, never to see the decomposing light of day) is good for everyone's health.

Significant Factors That Contribute to Poor Air Quality

In some cases, factors such as how old the source is and whether it is properly maintained are significant. For example, an improperly adjusted gas stove can emit significantly more carbon monoxide than one that is properly adjusted.

Some sources, such as building materials, furnishings, and household products like air fresheners, release pollutants more or less continuously.

Other sources, related to activities carried out in the home, release pollutants intermittently.

These include:

• smoking,

• the use of unvented or malfunctioning stoves, furnaces, or space heaters,

• the use of solvents in cleaning and hobby activities,

• the use of paint strippers in redecorating activities,

• and the use of cleaning products

• and pesticides in housekeeping.

High pollutant concentrations can remain in the air for long periods after some of these activities.

Amount of Ventilation

If too little outdoor air enters a home, pollutants can accumulate to levels that can pose health and comfort problems.

Unless they are built with special mechanical means of ventilation, homes that are designed and constructed to minimize the amount of outdoor air that can "leak" into and out of the home may have higher pollutant levels than other homes.

However, because some weather conditions can drastically reduce the amount of outdoor air that enters a home, pollutants can build up even in homes that are normally considered "leaky."

The EPA offers a reference guide to specific indoor air pollutants. (Listed by Sources, Health Effects, Levels in Homes and Steps to Reduce Exposure for each Pollutant)

Included are:

• Radon

• Environmental Tobacco Smoke

• Biologicals

• Formaldehyde

• Pesticides

• Asbestos

• Lead

What If You Live in an Apartment?

Apartments can have the same indoor air problems as single-family homes because many of the pollution sources, such as the interior building materials, furnishings, and household products, are similar. Indoor air problems similar to those in offices are caused by such sources as:

• contaminated ventilation systems,

• improperly placed outdoor air intakes, or

• maintenance activities.

Solutions to air quality problems in apartments, as in homes and offices, involve such actions as:

• eliminating or controlling the sources of pollution,

• increasing ventilation, and

• installing air cleaning devices.

Often a resident can take the appropriate action to improve the indoor air quality by removing a source, altering an activity, unblocking an air supply vent, or opening a window to temporarily increase the ventilation; in other cases, however, only the building owner or manager is in a position to remedy the problem.

For additional information on our recommendations for the highest quality air cleaning devices, click here.

For the steps you can take to improve the quality of your indoor air, click here.