{"id":590,"date":"2011-06-22T08:00:59","date_gmt":"2011-06-22T12:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/?p=590"},"modified":"2012-06-25T15:49:55","modified_gmt":"2012-06-25T19:49:55","slug":"how-to-improve-your-indoor-air-quality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/services\/how-to-improve-your-indoor-air-quality\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Improve Your Indoor Air Quality"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When we think of air pollution we often think of outdoor \u201csmog\u201d, but the air in your home or office may also be polluted, even if it looks clean. Sources of indoor pollution include<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mold<\/li>\n<li>Pollen<\/li>\n<li>Cigarette smoke<\/li>\n<li>Household cleaners<\/li>\n<li>Household d\u00e9cor and furnishings (like rugs and paint)<\/li>\n<li>Household pesticides (like rodent or ant-killers, or plant sprays)<\/li>\n<li>Radon<\/li>\n<li>Carbon monoxide<\/li>\n<li>Building materials (like asbestos and lead)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Indoor air quality is of particular concern in newer, better-insulated homes, or in older homes that have been recently weatherized. The \u201ctightness\u201d of modern houses means that any pollutants that get into the home stay there \u2013 and perhaps even increase in concentration over time if the source of the pollution is inside the house.<\/p>\n<p>Indoor air quality problems can cause discomfort and even serious disease, especially in children. The good news, though, is that there are many effective ways to improve indoor air quality.<\/p>\n<p>There are three basic strategies for improving indoor air quality:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Air purification. Air cleaners range from small tabletop models to \tfull-house models that are part of the central heating and cooling \tsystem. Small air purifiers are typically not very useful, but \tcentral air filters can be very effective at removing airborne \tcontaminants. If your heating and cooling system does not include \tcentral air filtration, you should consider an upgrade to a new \tsystem.\n<p>It is important to note that air purification will \tnot remove gases like carbon monoxide or radon from your home. Gas \tpollution must be remedied by professionals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Ventilation. Many forced-air heating and cooling systems do not \tbring outdoor air into the home. Kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans \tand attic ventilation fans (when weather permits) can be very \timportant in promoting the circulation of air. Also, opening windows \tis very important, especially when doing short-term activities such \tas painting that increase the number of pollutants in the air.\n<p>You \tshould also consider upgrading to one of the newer central heating \tand cooling systems that bring outdoor air into the home.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Source control. This is the most important indoor air quality \tstrategy, and in many cases, the simplest one. Source control is \tdefinitely the most cost-effective strategy for improving indoor air \tquality, because purification and ventilation both require a \tconstant use of energy.\n<p>Switch to all-natural household \tcleaners, buy household furnishings made of natural fibers (instead \tof synthetic fibers that can \u201coff-gas\u201d volatile organic \tcompounds). When painting, use VOC-free paint. Quit smoking, if you \thaven\u2019t already.<\/p>\n<p>In some cases, source control must be done \tby a certified contractor. Asbestos should be sealed or enclosed \t(asbestos is not a hazard unless it is disturbed, at which point it \tcan release a dangerous dust). Radon gas should be mitigated \twhenever possible by sealing cracks in the foundation where the gas \tenters, or by filtering the water supply if water is the source. Gas \tstoves can be adjusted to decrease the amount of emissions. Lead \tpaint can be scraped off or covered with modern, lead-free paint \t(this is <em>not<\/em> a DIY job and requires EPA training).<\/p>\n<p>And, \tdon\u2019t forget to install a carbon monoxide detector in your home, \tideally next to the sleeping areas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Indoor air quality is of particular concern in newer, better-insulated homes, or in older homes that have been recently weatherized. The \u201ctightness\u201d of modern houses means that any pollutants that get into the home stay there \u2013 and perhaps even increase in concentration over time if the source of the pollution is inside the house.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[246],"tags":[69,97,87,95],"class_list":["post-590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-services","tag-orange-county","tag-villa-park","tag-westminster","tag-yorba-linda"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=590"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1238,"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590\/revisions\/1238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}