Comfort Comes from Good Indoor Air Quality
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Your home should be a relaxing place to rekindle the spirit. But it's hard to feel at ease if your eyes itch or water, if your throat feels sore or scratchy, if you have a persistent headache, fatigue, an itchy skin rash, or have airways so congested that it feels like a large animal is sitting on your chest. All of those sensations can be reactions to allergens or indoor air pollution.
Your Bedroom Air May be Worse than the Air in Los Angeles!
Over the past decade, a growing body of scientific evidence has shown indoor air is usually more polluted than the outdoor air in even the largest and most industrialized cities. Because most people spend 90 percent of their time indoors, the health risks from air pollution are probably worse indoors than outdoors.
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In addition, the very people who are most exposed to indoor air pollutants for the longest periods are often those who have the least resistance to illness: the very young, the elderly, and the chronically ill, especially those suffering from lung or heart disease. In addition, some diseases, including asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and humidifier fever, can be kicked off by indoor air pollutants, which act as a trigger that sets off the disease.
According to the EPA, "indoor pollution sources that release gases or particles into the air are the primary cause of indoor air quality problems in homes."
That Persistent "Cold" Might Not Be a Cold
Immediate effects that show up after a single exposure or repeated small exposures are usually short-term and treatable. But some effects show up either years later, or only after long or repeated periods of exposure. These effects, which include some respiratory diseases, heart disease, and cancer, can be severely debilitating or fatal.
That's why it makes sense to do everything you can to create a healthy home, and to get some expert help in choosing furniture and finishes that are as environmentally and human-friendly as possible.
Where Does it Come From?
Indoor air pollution comes from burning - oil, gas, kerosene, coal, wood, and tobacco - and also from cleaning and hobbies.
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But building materials and furnishings are also major culprits. You are probably familiar with the smell of a new car, a newly paint room, or a new carpet. What you're smelling are chemical compounds being released into the air to create that smell - and those compounds are not good for you. That process is called "off-gassing."
Off-gassing is the release of carbon-based compounds (when chemists use the term "volatile organic compounds" they are referring to that carbon, and not using organic in the sense that laymen do). Common sources all around us offgas; some do it quickly, in a matter of days or weeks, but some continue to pollute our air for years. The items that offgas range from furniture and floor coverings to paper products, printed materials, paint, and simple plastic grocery bags.