Look Better & Feel Better by Improving Your Indoor Air Quality

Thanks to the Canada Safety Council (CSC), we now know that dry skin, rashes and irritation, puffy eyes, a stuffy nose, wheezing, sneezing, headache, nausea, and exhaustion can all stem from breathing in toxic air.

Every cell in our body depends on air for its survival. The more pure our air is, the younger and healthier our cells are and the better we look and feel. Conversely, the less clean our air supply is, the faster we age, the older we look, and the worse we feel.

At work, we are distracted, unfocused, and often flat-out unproductive. We suffer and our co-workers and the company’s bottom line suffer with us.

At home, we are eager to skimp on family tasks and responsibilities, including formerly treasured time with our partner and kids, so we can lie down and rest our aching head and complaining sinuses.

This is no way to live. When the indoor air you and I breathe in and out every day is contaminated with toxins, we live life less fully than we can and want to, and it often seems like there is nothing we can do about it.

Happily, in this post, you will learn that there IS something you can do about it—and you can start right now, today!

Common Indoor Air Toxins

The CSC cites a number of known common indoor air toxins that are present in sufficient quantities to cause symptoms in many homes and workplaces throughout Canada.

The list of known toxins includes the following:

Mould, mildew, and fungi
Pesticides, insecticides, and fungicides
Pollen and dust mites
Dust and debris
Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ozone, formaldehyde
Chemicals from commercial cleaning products and air fresheners
Bacteria, viruses
Smoke and fumes from tobacco products
Pet dander

In some cases, we are introducing more toxins into our indoor air on a near-daily basis without even realizing what we are doing. This is particularly true with our use of pesticides, bug sprays, tobacco products, and cleaning products. For example, many scents we use to “freshen” the air at home and work are actually potently toxic concoctions of unpronounceable chemicals.

So here, you can see that the first task on the road to younger looks and better health is simply identifying the toxins in the indoor air that are making you sick!

3 Steps to Clean Air, Clear Skin, & Good Health

If you follow these 3 steps to the letter, you can count on enjoying cleaner, purer indoor air to breathe as a result of your efforts.

Step 1: Evaluate your indoor air at home and at work

With an indoor air quality test, you will be able to find out exactly what toxins are present in your indoor air supply at home and at work, and which are most prevalent, and begin working to eradicate those from your indoor air supply first.

The indoor air quality test can be conducted as you and your family go about your daily activities. The same holds true for you and your employees at your workplace.

The silent indoor air quality monitor will be running as you go about your day, taking one air sample every 60 seconds. It will run for one full 24-hour cycle, analyze its findings, and then generate a full-colour printed report to show you visually when toxic spikes occur and what toxins are present in your indoor air.

Once you have the results of your indoor air quality test in hand, you can use the report to begin reducing toxins in your indoor air supply.

Step 2: Have your air duct system professionally cleaned

There are two ways to pursue cleaning up your indoor air supply at home and work. The first way is to troubleshoot toxin by toxin, cracking down on cleaning products, tobacco-using employees, and shedding pets.

The second way is root out the majority of present toxins all in one fell swoop. If this sounds good to you, then what you need is a professional air duct cleaning. During this cleaning, which can be scheduled after hours or over a weekend at your workplace and anytime that is convenient at your home, your entire HVAC air duct system will be vacuumed to be rid of all accumulated dust, debris, and toxins.

When the air duct cleaning is complete, you will be left with the cleanest, purest indoor air your home has probably ever contained. From here, you can spot check and troubleshoot as needed for any remaining minor issues.

NOTE: At home, or in a business with laundry, you will want to combine the air duct cleaning with a dryer vent cleaning to ensure none of the accumulated debris gets reintroduced into your air ducts.

Step 3: Improve the ventilation and filtration of your HVAC system

Your final step to purifying your indoor air supply will be to boost your HVAC system’s ability to filter out toxins and particulate matter and improve overall ventilation into and out of your space.

Filtration

The best way to improve your filtration is to upgrade to a HEPA-rated filtration system. Whether you replace just your HVAC air filters or also install a central or portable HEPA-rated filtration system, this will keep 99.97 percent of toxins out of your indoor air for good.

Ventilation

A heat recovery ventilation system ensures that fresh incoming air and contaminated outgoing air will never mix. Your indoor air will be free from toxins, excess moisture and humidity, and stale oxygen-poor air, and you will look and feel better as a result!