Indoor Air Quality, how clean is your air?

The air you most often breathe is inside your home. Ever wonder how clean it is?
You air is contaminated with everything that enters your home from the outdoors. That is a given. Did you know that the leading contributor isn’t the air outside though, it’s your cleaning and household products, that’s according to the EPA. You can find some of the nasty things on the labels but it is the stuff not listed that is causing you to breathe toxins. Things like synthetic fragrances and petroleum-distilled chemicals, or VOCs. Research has shown that these toxins lead to all kinds of health problems like generalized sensitivity skin and respiratory irritation, allergies, asthma and some experts believe maybe even autism. Other contributors can be tobacco smoke, VOC’s from, solvents, aerosol sprays, hobby supplies, and dry cleaned clothes , not to mention furniture and carpet .
It is hard to get away from these guys too, because even the mainstream natural and earth friendly cleaners use the solvents from petro chemicals (and yes these come from petroleum, oil that is… wonder why we are so reliant on petroleum?) to extract the “naturally derived” components in their products, the truth is there are better alterative but it’s cheaper to do it the dirty way.

One way to keep the toxins low in your home is to use products you know are clean. Does your cleaner contain any of the known irritants? What about the word “fragrance”, is it on the label? A lot of companies use the ability to trademark fragrances to hide all sorts of dangerous things. Check with the company or find one that discloses ALL their ingredients. Chartreuse Products are one alternative (and the best if you ask me) to conventional cleaners.
If you use a washer and then your dyer be aware that the dryers exhaust will find its way throughout your home. The detergent that you use is as guilty of being toxic as your other household cleaners. Detergent isn’t soap after all. Dryer sheets and fabric softeners are huge culprits too, causing some of the same things that cleaners do, along with other disorders associated with the central nervous system. Using a natural soap, and a dryer sheet (to reduce static cling) but skip the scented ones – will help illuminate things like Chloroform, from your household air.
Plants, nature’s air purifiers are also wonderful for improving air quality. They don’t only purify the air but they restore need oxygen and balance humidity. Bathrooms with mold problems can benefit from a peace lily. There are many plants, a complete list that was put together some time ago originally by NASA that can help in restoring air quality. The type of plant and the number of them per square foot is important in order to maximize the benefits, using the suggested plants with the ratio of one per ten square feet of your home.
Be diligent about what comes into your home, buying furniture that doesn’t contain any toxic glues or pressed woods, as well as avoiding synthetic fabrics will in the long run keep the VOC levels low. Buying paints designed to have NO VOC off gassing will not only protect you from the layers of paint already on your wall but they won’t smell so obnoxious during application and won’t further contribute to the problem.



There are even simpler things you can do too, remove your shoes when in your home. All sorts of pollen and dirt come into your home from your shoes. You can also vacuum your home frequently using a good quality vac with a HEPA filter. If you are looking to upgrade look for one of the newer energy efficient vacuums, because after reading this I expect that you will be using it more often!*( I have a Eureka light weight ,I purchased it at a home improvement store and paid less than a hundred dollars, it has a HEPA and is energy star rated.)Don’t just vacuum the floors either; remember the furniture and drapes trap all sorts of things. Along your base boards and door frames things often accumulate and as you walk are stirred up in to the air. You can change your air filter in you HVAC unit at least once a month, and keep the vents clean. On warm days it doesn’t hurt to open your windows and air out the house. Of course this is a great time to clean out those window sills too!!

Read the label, and check the internet. You can protect the air inside with a little diligence.