Vouch for Clean Indoor Air in 2017 – Indoor Air Pollution And What To Do About It
Home, Sweet Home – A Chemical Trap.
According to research we spend about an amazing 90% of our time in our homes indoors. But do we ever think twice about what effect the air we breath inside our homes could have on our health?
No! In fact most of us just casually assume that we are safe in our homes, also in regards to the air we breathe.
How disturbing to find out that our indoor air is two to five times more toxic than the air in the outside environment according to EPA findings!
Please check out this great resource provided by LAHomes.com to learn more about common sources of VOCs in our homes and how to limit your exposure to them.
Can I avoid indoor air pollution?
First we have to come to terms with the fact that there is no complete escape of indoor air pollution. In our modern world we are surrounded by factors that are the cause to that very indoor air pollution.
Many cleaning products, disinfectants, air fresheners as well as cosmetics and even dry-cleaned clothing can emit certain gases and other organic compounds (known as VOCs) while we are using them. We are exposed to VOCs by the behaviors of others living in our household or in our neighborhood but also by simply storing some of them.
We can’t avoid it, but we can help control it!
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- Ventilation
A simple way to control indoor air pollution is to make sure that your home is well ventilated. Especially in the colder seasons we tend to shut our windows tightly to avoid any cold air from entering our nicely heated home environment. Outdoors however, harmful gases and other particles get diluted in the fresh air, not so in our home with its windows sealed. So make sure that your home gets a nice fresh breeze of air at least once a day!
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- Seal containers with chemicals and store them outside the house
Secondly, don’t leave containers of paints or varnishes open within your home. They emit toxic gases and some of these can even release organic compounds while simply being stored. So get them out of your indoor living space!
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- Get cleaner air with natural air scrubbers!
Common Air cleaners will certainly support you on your mission to get cleaner air inside but keep in mind that they only clean particles in the air. Any VOCs settled on surfaces will remain. Also, they are not very effective against gases and aerosol toxins.
A much more economic and natural alternative to the conventional air scrubber are actually certain houseplants. Green plants with big leaves are know to be very effective in cleaning the air we breathe inside our homes and they are beautiful to look at!
Three of the best plants to use for cleaning your indoor air:
Bromeliad – according to a study it cleans most of the chemicals in the air and it releases oxygen during night
Snake Plant – will also release oxygen but also absorb carbon dioxide during night time and “is one of the best for filtering out formaldehyde” . But be aware the leaves are poisonous, so the plant is not well suited for a child’s bedroom.
Peace Lily – is on NASA’s list for removing three of the most common VOCs: formaldehyde, benzene and trichloroethylene.
Check out the video by Scientific American on cleaning VOCs with indoor plants:
And with this, we wish you a happy start into a clean-air February 2017!
If you would like to contact us directly and ask us a question, you can do so online or call Sparkle 24-Hours a Day at 714-641-6600 & 949-631-1001 .
Best wishes,