Air Quality in Your Home and Business

5/3/2017 (Permalink)

May 1 – 5 is Air Quality Week! The theme for 2017 is Be Air Aware. This includes topics such as: Wildfires, Asthma and Air Quality, Air Quality Trends, Air Quality Around the World, and Citizen Science.

Why is it important to be knowledgeable when it comes to indoor air quality? Indoor air often contains higher concentrations of hazardous pollutants than outdoor air; however, the good news is that everyone can reduce indoor air pollution.

According to the National Safety Council:

Over the years, buildings have been made more airtight to conserve energy. A variety of methods have been employed to keep the hot or cool air from escaping from our homes: installing storm windows and insulation; applying caulk and weatherstripping to seal cracks and other openings; and heating our homes with kerosene, wood, coal, and natural gas. Unfortunately, when we trap in hot or cool air, we also trap in pollutants and sometimes generate more.

On average, people spend about 90 percent of their time indoors. Sixty-five percent of that is spent at home. To make matters worse, those who are most susceptible to indoor air pollution are the ones who are home the most: children, pregnant women, the elderly, and those with chronic illnesses. Children breathe in 50 percent more air per pound of body weight than adults do. EPA studies have found that pollutant levels inside can be two to five times higher than outdoors. After some activities, indoor air pollution levels can be 100 times higher than outdoors.

Children may be more susceptible to environmental exposures than adults and, because of their developing systems, particularly vulnerable to their effects. Asthma is a case in point. About 4.2 million children in the United States, and more than 12.4 million people. A recent study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine concluded that 65 percent of asthma cases among elementary school-age children could be prevented by controlling exposure to indoor allergens and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). By controlling biological contaminants (e.g., dust mites and cat allergens), asthma cases could be reduced by 55 to 60 percent.

Therefore, it is crucial to have your HVAC system in your company building and in your home professionally cleaned. This will reduce the circulation of dust, pollen and other contaminants that could affect people who are more susceptible to these effects.

SERVPRO of Richmond is professionally trained to thoroughly clean out air ducts and provide your family or company with clean air.

For more information, please visit: https://www3.epa.gov/airnow/airaware/