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Good AIQ for Good Health

Photo Source: Science Daily

Most people spend a lot of time in the comforts of their homes at any particular time of the day. These days indoor air quality is a must since it brings up some concerns. It is said that air pollution is more likely to have higher rates indoor compared to the outdoors. Since we spend a lot of time indoors, many are looking for available products that could clean up the air inside your living space. An example of this device is an IAQ monitor.

IAQ stands for Indoor Air Quality. IAQ monitors detect the air around the interior of the space and identify the level of pollution we humans are exposed to. Indoor air pollution disrupts a healthy indoor air quality. Effects of indoor air pollution may be felt immediately or may show up year or months later.

After a single or repeated exposure to pollutants, some health effects may already be felt such as irritation of eyes, nose, lips, and throat, redness of the eyes, dizziness, headaches, and fatigue. The mere elimination of one’s exposure to identified pollutants may be enough to treat these immediate health effects as they are usually short-term. Allergies, asthma and other respiratory problems may be worsened if exposures to indoor air pollutants are prolonged.

The residential high-efficiency air movement and ventilation market has garnered a lot of attention recently as concerns over maintaining healthy indoor environments have increased and the technologies to make this happen have improved.

“IAQ has reached the residential market in a big way now with cleaning and sealing of the ductwork in order to get all of the energy to the right places, combined with high-efficiency, whole-house filtration systems,” said Mike White, vice president, National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA).

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We usually assume that the moment we step into our houses, we are already safe from pollutants. In reality, no. We are not safe even in our own homes as indoor air pollution may exist inside if we do not make it a habit to clean our house. Some of the common pollutants that cause indoor air pollution include molds, pollens, tobacco smoke, household products and pesticides, gases such as carbon monoxide or radon and materials such as formaldehyde and lead.

Prolonged exposure to particulate matter in air pollution in the Los Angeles Basin triggered inflammation and the appearance of cancer-related genes in the brains of rats, a Cedars-Sinai study has found.

While previous research has documented the association between air pollution and a variety of diseases, including cancer, the study found markers indicating certain materials in coarse air pollution — nickel, in particular — may play a role in genetic changes related to disease development, said Julia Ljubimova, MD, PhD.

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Pollution happens when contaminants are introduced to the environment which may cause changes and disruption of processes. Pollution may come in the form of chemical substances or energy such as noise, light, and heat. Pollution has also been ranked as one of the deadliest environmental problems. Pollution, however, is not limited to the outdoor environment. Pollution can also exist even in the comfort of our own homes.

Indoor air quality is very important because we humans spend time inside closed spaces such as malls, offices, buildings and our rooms and homes. Health effects may arise if we do not see to it that the air we breathe, both indoors and outdoors, are clean and safe. It is important to keep our air clean. The absence of clean and breathable air is a problem that many faces but not everyone gets to solve this problem. In our own simple ways, let us protect ourselves and others from the harms indoor air pollution has in store.

To learn more about indoor air pollution, check this out:

If you’re looking for a local HVAC professional, contact Bulldog Heating & Cooling today! If you are experiencing problems with your HVAC systems and they don’t give you the comfort and service you asked for, we can aid you in repairing and boosting it up to optimize its performance and offer you quality service. We also offer services such as HVAC system installations that are done by our professional employees.

Other Resources:

Heating and Cooling Systems Mechanism
How Central Air Conditioners Help the Body
Do You Share Your Energy Bills? Here’s Why You Probably Should!