Tips to avoid Indoor Pollution

The majority of us think that pollution and health issues starts from big factories and industrial processes only, rather than a normal home. But this is a wrong conception. The buildings where we work and live protect us from nature’s extremes and offers us all worldly comforts but they also influence our health and environment in countless ways. Although it’s easy to monitor exposure to pollution in factories, our homes and offices pose much bigger and complex challenge. According to US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) indoor pollution levels are often at least two times higher than outdoor environment and occasionally up to 100 times higher. Following are some tips to reduce your exposure to toxic chemicals to create a safer indoor living environment for you and your family.

Keep away Mold and Mites
It is important that in the roof and attic design main considerations are preventing progress of moisture and managing moisture to avoid condensation on building materials resulting in dust mites and mold spores. So fix leaky pipes and faucets instantly. Take care that water slopes away from the foundation of your house.

Carpets
Carpets are found to have an average of 67 grams of dust per square meter of carpet and addition to dust, the chemicals in the adhesives and the padding and sub-flooring can release fumes into indoor air for weeks after the carpet installation. Go in for untreated, natural carpeting and flooring to avoid this.

Building Materials
Plywood, kitchen cabinets and home insulation all contains formaldehyde. The “clean” smell of fresh paint is actually the evaporation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These VOCs include known carcinogens or neurotoxins like benzene, formaldehyde, toluene and xylene. Try not to use glues, paints and sealants that emit volatile chemicals. Prefer solid woods and formaldehyde-free insulations.

Fresh Air
Adequate fresh air should be provided. This can be done through increasing ventilation rates and increasing air distribution. In the past, the majority of buildings had operable windows used for airing out a stuffy room. Nowadays, most office buildings are constructed without operable windows. Mechanical ventilation systems should be used to exchange indoor air with a supply of relatively cleaner outdoor air.

Household Cleaners
Look for labels that reveal each and every one of the cleaner’s chemicals. Be sure to avoid cleaners that have these suspect hormone disrupter chemicals. The fragrances used in the cleaners are often their only positive point when it comes to how they impact the people who use them. Choose natural cleaning agents such as baking soda and white vinegar. In addition there are brands with especially formulated non-toxic ingredients.

Basement
Remember not to leave a car running even with the garage door open particularly if the garage is under the living area. Carbon monoxide can simply seep through walls and floors. When your oil company calls to clean your boiler, get it done without any delay and test your house for radon as well.

Dry Cleaning
Ask your dry cleaner to provide safer alternatives like liquid carbon dioxide or “wet cleaning” in place of commonly used cleaner perchloroethylene, a suspected cancer-causing chemical.

Remove your shoes outside the home
According to some research 90% of a person’s exposure to pesticides occurs in an indoor environment. These pesticides ride on our shoes and are tracked throughout the house. Just removing your shoes at the door is the best way to avoid importing pesticides.

Vinyl Floor and Wall Coverings
Flooring and wallpaper are manufactured with PVC which may have toxic chemical additives including phthalate plasticizers and lead. Prefer non-PVC wall and floor coverings to minimize potential exposure to these toxins.

Stop smoking indoors
Tobacco smoke includes more than 4,000 different chemicals, and smoking indoors is one of the most horrible things that you can do for your living environment. If you or your friends smoke, try to keep smoking restricted to the outdoors. Step outside to smoke and save your home and your health.

It is vital that we keep monitoring our indoor air quality and are aware of the environment where we spend most of our lives and improve it by adopting a greener approach.