Fresh Air Solution For Toxic Homes - By: Jodi Ouellette

It's funny to think that you may equate the term toxic with visions of scientists in protective gear, looking similar to astronauts. Perhaps, you've seen a news cast about toxic homes, and caught a glimpse of a home declared condemned due to black mold or severe unhealthy conditions. For most people, air pollution is thought to be created by factories with huge smoke stacks expelling toxic gases. Hardly, does the thought that your cozy home is a source of toxic air pollution. Furthermore, far too few parents are thinking about the air your children are breathing constantly, while supposedly safe at home.

Your indoor air, is 3-5 times more polluted than the outside air, and in some cases it can be as high as 100 times worse. Due to the fact that our homes are built more energy efficient today, we make sure our homes are sealed tight, so our heating or cooling can’t escape and fresh air can’t come in. So for the sake of our pocketbooks, we are forced to breathe whatever is locked into our little box, called our home. Ultimately, with the combination of existing materials in our home, and whatever germs we or our children bring home each day, we are concocting toxic homes. Not to mention who knows what our pets are carrying with them when they enter our home.

We often take for granted each breath of air we take, which is on average about 22,000 times per day. Unless you work outdoors, you probably spend around ninety percent of your time inside, and about sixty-five percent of that time, at home, which is the average. When we are resting comfortably, chances are we’re not thinking about what we are exposing our kids to with indoor air pollution. Here are a few of the culprits contributing to toxic homes and polluted indoor air: volatile organic compounds (emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids) such as paints and lacquers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings, office equipment like printers, craft materials, glues, adhesives, varnishes, wax, disinfecting solutions, permanent markers; there are far too many to name, since it numbers in the thousands.

Poor indoor air quality contributes to long and short term adverse health effects. There has been a significant rise in asthma and allergies over the last few decades, and many believe it is due to poor indoor air quality. Sick building syndrome is a newer term, labeling an indoor environment where at least 20% of it's occupants report similar air pollution related symptoms. Some of the common reported symptoms are eye, nose, or throat irritations, headache, nausea, dizziness, persistent cough, allergic skin reactions, fatigue, drying of mucous membranes, wheezing, or an overall feeling of poor health.

Now you should have a better understanding of how indoor air quality contributes to toxic homes. The truth is, if you are like the majority of families, your children have significant daily exposure to indoor contaminants. Now, for the upside, necessity is the mother of invention, so we do have solutions. Today we have options in our building materials, so one solution, is carefully selecting materials to avoid the off-gassing of harmful or toxic substances. We can increase our ventilation, use de-humidifiers and filters. Change your cleaning methods or products to more natural or organic choices to reduce the effects of disinfectants or aerosols.

If your budget doesn’t allow for a complete overhaul, then perhaps you could try the simple solution we use, which is a good quality filter less air purification system. Since there is a huge selection of air purifiers on the market, I suggest looking at filter-less units, since filters are more limited in capability. Doing your homework pays off, because a lower cost upfront does not equate to automatic savings in your pocket, especially since you want a product that solves the problem with little replacement costs. Shifting out of toxic homes, and into a healthy environment is achieved through making educated decisions. To start, make a checklist of items that are simple to implement in the short term. Then make a list of the items you will have to budget for, so you will have a healthy home action plan you can stick to. Creating a healthy home for your family doesn’t have to be difficult, when you apply what you learn one simple step at a time.

About the Author

To learn more about the toxic homes epidemic and viable solutions connect with Jodi Ouellette, a healthy home industry leader. The following link is a short video with Jodi Ouellette, to learn about her solution. Jodi has worked in the environmental health field for almost 10 years, and has a passion for educating families about healthy lifestyles.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Jodi-Ouellette/143276

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