Improve Your Home’s Air Quality and Your Health

Keeping your home warm and cozy during the winter months sounds like good advice to most of us, but it can have ill-affects on your health unless you follow some helpful tips.

Our homes are normally closed up this time of year to retain heat, reducing the amount of fresh air that helps flush indoor air pollutants. During the winter home heating season, indoor air pollution can be two to five times higher than outdoor air. Many people suffer breathing difficulties and other health problems due to poor indoor air quality during the winter, says Kara Stevens, Indoor Environment Program Manager for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Increased levels of indoor air pollutants can affect children, the elderly, people with cardiovascular and upper respiratory diseases, and those who suffer from allergies and asthma.

Stevens notes that many homes experience increased levels of trapped tobacco and wood smoke, mold, dust and pet dander during the winter heating season. She offers the following tips that may be helpful in reducing the amount of indoor air pollutants in your home:

* Run your furnace fan continuously. In order for the furnace filter to capture particles, the fan must be operating at all times.

* Use a high efficiency filter in your furnace and replace the filter every one-to-three months. The more efficient the filter, the more particles it will capture, including those small particles that can get deep down into the lungs and cause health problems. Be sure to contact a heating contractor to determine the best filter for your system, without compromising air flow.

* Make sure that all appliances, including your furnace, dryer, hot water heater, and gas range are regularly serviced and vented to the outside (and not to the crawlspace, attic, or basement). Check flues and chimneys for blockages and cracks that would allow fumes to enter the home. Make sure the chimney has a good draft up the flue and is clear of debris. If a family member has asthma or another lung disease, you may consider converting your fireplace from wood-burning to gas.

* Test your home for radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas. Radon levels tend to be the highest in the winter when homes are closed up. Contact the Idaho Indoor Environment Program for a radon testing kit.

* Maintain indoor humidity levels between 35-55 percent to prevent mold growth. Humidity levels can be measured using a hygrometer, available at local hardware stores. It is important to use exhaust fans in areas such as bathrooms and kitchens to avoid mold growth. Check your crawlspace every two to three months to make sure it is dry. Ensure the crawlspace has plastic sheeting over the entire area to prevent moisture from evaporating up into the home.

* Keep humidifiers and de-humidifiers clean as they can be breeding grounds for mold and bacteria.

* Avoid smoking indoors, especially if you have children.

* Keep pets out of the bedroom of anyone with asthma, by keeping doors closed. Most pets can trigger an asthma attack.

* If there is an inversion during the winter months, and you have asthma or other respiratory conditions, stay indoors as much as possible with windows and doors closed. Drink plenty of liquids.

Carbon monoxide poisoning is another serious health threat during the winter months. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that results from combustion appliances that burn fuel, such as kerosene, propane, and gas space heaters; wood-burning stoves and fireplaces; furnaces; gas water heaters, ovens and ranges; and automobiles. Tobacco smoke, including secondhand smoke, is also a source of carbon monoxide exposure in homes with smokers.

Each winter, accidents occur when people are exposed to lethal levels of indoor carbon monoxide from improperly vented or leaking furnaces and fireplaces. At low levels, exposure can cause headaches, nausea, fatigue, and heart pain. Exposure to high levels can cause permanent heart and brain damage, and even death. The following tips can reduce your exposure to carbon monoxide poisoning:

* If your house has fuel-burning appliances, consider purchasing a carbon monoxide detector that meets Underwriters Laboratories standard 2034-95.

* Have a qualified technician inspect, clean, and adjust your wood and gas burning appliances and chimneys/vents every fall, before the start of home heating season.

* Ensure that gas appliances are vented to the outside.

* Don’t cook or heat with charcoal grills indoors—even in a fireplace.

* Don’t idle vehicles in the garage—even with the door open. Carbon monoxide can accumulate quickly and enter your home.

* Don’t ever use gas stoves or ovens to heat your home.

* Don’t sleep in any room with an unvented gas- or kerosene-burning space heater.

* Don’t close the damper to the fireplace unless the fire is completely out and the coals are cold.

* Avoid smoking indoors.

About The Author:

Carey Larson is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-home-decor.com. Home decorating tips and ideas to showcase any room with style.

	Home Health
Improve Your Home’s Air Quality and Your Health