When you think of the air pollution outdoor: exhaust pipes from cars and trucks, chimney from factories and more… Who wants to go outdoor?
You may want to think again.
Indoor air pollution is a silent killer that not too many people notice. It can be up to 5 times deadlier than outdoor air pollution. Do you stay outdoor during cold winter days? Or have you ever open your windows during the long winter? If you say no to both of the questions, then you should ask yourself: What am I breathing for the whole winter?
Wait but I clean and dust my house everything, that should help a lot! Yes and no. Yes, removing dust from the house will significantly reduce air pollutants indoor. No, it depends on how you clean the house.
It ends up chemical cleaners are also one of the sources of indoor air pollution. Indoor air pollution killed between 1.5 million to 2 million in 2000 one year alone. It is better to take this issue seriously before it is too late.
There are a few common pollutants indoor that you may want to remove from your house:
1. Second-hand Smoke
Small particles from smoke were trapped. The hazard small particles will get into the lungs and trapped. The only certain way to improve air quality from this is eliminate smoking indoors.
2. Radon
Invisible radioactive atomic gas naturally occurs from decay of radium. The heavy gas tends to accumulate at the lowest level. With 21,000 lung cancer deaths per year in US, about 2,900 of deaths occur among people who never smoked. Radon is number one cause among non-smokers.
3. Mold
Mold is always associated with moisture. Improper ventilation, or even drying clothes indoor may increase the risk of exposure to Aspergillus – a highly dangerous mould that can be fatal for asthma sufferers and the elderly. Keeping humidity levels below 50% indoor can effectively make mold inhibited.
4. Carbon Monoxide
Colourless and odourless gas from incomplete combustion. Common sources are tobacco smoke or space heaters using fossil fuel, defective furnaces and automobile exhaust. By depriving the brain of oxygen, high levels of carbon monoxide can lead to nausea, unconsciousness and death.
5. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Volatile organic compounds are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs are emitted by a wide array of products numbering in the thousands.
Examples include: paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings, office equipment such as copiers and printers, correction fluids and carbonless copy paper, graphics and craft materials including glues and adhesives, permanent markers, and photographic solutions.
Among thousands of chemical products, there are 4 chemicals are products of Stachybotrys chartarum, also known as toxic black mold and are linked to various conditions include sick building syndrome.
Staying indoor can be very scary but there are natural ways to eliminate indoor air pollution approved by NASA study.