Think back to the first time you learned that, on average, our indoor air is up to five times more toxic than the air outside. Or perhaps you are learning this for the first time right now.
From asbestos fibers to lead paint dust, chloroform from chlorinated water, and VOCs from DIY supplies, you may feel it is impossible to eradicate all the health hazards floating in your indoor air supply.
But we have good news: you can actually do a great deal to clean and purify your indoor air!
Intervention Versus Prevention
Both prevention and intervention are effective strategies for tackling the issue of toxic indoor air.
Prevention
When you know that most commercial household cleaning products contain terpenes, new plastics give off phthalates, and disinfectants emit phenols, you can research safer alternative products.
You can also research new household and office materials and appliances and select only those that pose minimal risk to you and others.
Intervention
Intervention should occur after a family member starts experiencing recurrent allergies or illness, or office workers begin complaining of headaches and fatigue after entering the building.
Sometimes it can also happen after reading an article like this one!
This is actually the most common introduction to toxic indoor air cleaning information, simply because so much of the research and data that addresses specific toxins can be difficult to access and understand.
Luckily, with the process we will describe here, you don’t need to be able to name all 586 chemicals known to regularly be present inside homes and offices.
What you do need to know is how to intervene to send those chemicals packing!
Airborne Toxins Be Gone
Here at Clean Air Solutions Hamilton, we live by our “7 Steps to a Healthy Indoor Climate” credo.
These 7 steps are as follows.
1. Indoor air testing and analysis
Indoor air testing is the best method to determine which toxins in what concentrations exist inside your home or workplace, and which ones you need to be most concerned about.
The indoor air quality test takes 72 hours. It is completely silent and unobtrusive. You will receive the results in an easy-to-read print-out form that highlights areas of particular concern.
2. Indoor air duct cleaning
Many toxins that circulate freely through your indoor air are built up in greater quantities inside your air duct system. In most homes and offices, the indoor air duct network has never been cleaned, which can mean 5 or 10 or 20 years’ worth of debris is piled up inside the ducts.
A professional indoor air duct cleaning removes 100 percent of that debris in a single day, leaving nothing but clean, breathable air behind.
3. Indoor air filtration
Filtering your indoor air is a way to trap airborne particles that could irritate your tissues and damage your health. The most effective filtration systems capture the smallest airborne particles.
Currently, the HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filtration system is the gold standard. Even if you have an older HVAC unit or furnace, you can still use HEPA filtration by installing a compatible appliance that works directly with your air duct system to filter out airborne toxins as tiny as the width of a single human hair!
4. Indoor air purification
Whereas filtering your air will remove floating micro-particles, purification will neutralize them completely. Purification is a natural complement to filtration in that it addresses even smaller micro-particles that even HEPA filters cannot catch.
The most effective purifier to date is still ultraviolet (UV) light. As a bonus, U.V. air purifiers also neutralize odours, airborne viruses and bacteria, mildew and mould, fungi and parasites.
5. Indoor air humidification
Humidity, or lack thereof, is a favorite seasonal topic in Canada. Summer tends to be the hot, humid season in many parts of Canada, while winter often ushers in just the opposite.
On either extreme, allergies, asthma attacks, respiratory infections, and more serious illness can flourish. This is because the body needs access to a certain level of constant humidity (between 30 and 50 percent on any given day) to maintain its own internal healthy flora and fauna.
Too little humidity (less than 30 percent) and your respiratory tissues will dry out, giving germs and bacteria a ripe opportunity to penetrate your immune system’s defenses. Too much humidity (more than 50 percent) has the same effect for exactly the opposite reason.
The best way to maintain your health year-round is to install a system at home or work that can keep your indoor humidity within the healthy range. Humidifiers work well in the winter and dehumidifiers can be essential in the summer and during periods of heavy seasonal rain.
6. Whole home/office ventilation
Ventilation is one of the most critical components of maintaining healthy, balanced, oxygen-rich and breathable indoor air.
At the simplest level, ventilation can be accomplished by opening doors and windows on nice days. But on a consistent day-to-day basis, the best way to ensure adequate daily ventilation is to use a heat (energy) recovery ventilator.
This unique appliance separates stale outgoing air from fresh incoming air while simultaneously balancing humidity and aiding in temperature control.
7. Regular dryer vent/mattress cleaning
There are two more favorite hiding places for airborne pests, toxins, and chemicals. One is your mattress and the other is your clothes dryer.
By taking time to periodically have your mattresses and dryer vents professionally cleaned, you eradicate whole colonies of dust mites as well as bacteria, fungi, parasites, viral matter, and other germs.
Purify Your Indoor Air for 20 Percent Less!
Our Breathe Clean Air Event offers you 20 percent off the cost of any whole home HEPA filter, UV filter, heat recovery ventilator or humidification system.
Call us at 905-544-2470 or complete this simple online form to claim your discount!
