What Affects Indoor Air Quality?

Poor indoor air quality can lead to a variety of health problems, including respiratory issues, allergic reactions, headaches, and fatigue. In some cases, it can also cause long-term health effects such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Maintaining good indoor air quality is essential for the health and well-being of individuals and families. 

In this article, we’ll examine the various factors that influence indoor air quality and discuss ways to improve it. 

What Affects Indoor Air Quality?

By understanding the various factors that can affect indoor air quality and taking steps to address them, we can create healthier indoor environments and improve our overall quality of life. Here is what affects air quality and how to fix it.

Humidity

Areas such as Louisiana, Florida, Alaska, Indiana and Mississippi experience high humidity during summer. Other regions may experience constant humidity throughout the year. 

However, to have a cozy home, humidity must be controlled.

At home, humidity is caused by:

•  water leaks from damaged or cracked pipes or faucets
• moistures seeping through crawl spaces 
• Moisture trapped from air flowing from outside

According to the Mayo Clinic, the ideal relative humidity for you to be healthy and comfortable at home is between 30-50%[1].

If the humidity is above 50%, it leads to biological growth. This means that your body can’t regulate its internal temperature through evaporation. Due to that, you’ll feel warmer. 

Also , high humidity can make you sick. Humidity encourages growth of fungus, mold and dust mites.  Furthermore, humidity worsens pollution. All this can lead to;

• Shortness of breath
• Respiratory distress
• Lung irritation

So, how can you lower humidity to optimum levels?

A quick way to fix issues of high humidity is to purchase a dehumidifier.

On the other hand, if humidity falls below 30%, you’ll start experiencing;

• Dry skin
• Skin irritation
• Sore throat
• Dry eyes

The best method to fix this is to increase the moisture in your indoor space. You should consider investing in a humidifier.

Ventilation

Ventilation affects both the indoor humidity and house pollution, which both have an effect on indoor air quality. Poor ventilation can spur mold growth due to high humidity levels. 

Ventilation changes the pressure difference between the inside and outside of your house. This has a direct impact on the flow of pollutants  in and out of your house.

Poor ventilation causes polluted air to recirculate throughout the house. This leads to;

• Dust and pollen build up
• Causes health problems and is bad for allergic and asthmatic people.

A quick way of improving indoor air quality is opening doors and windows if it’s possible. This will introduce fresh air into the house. 

Also, you can consider installing a new ventilation system.

Note: while ventilation can be used to control humidity, it can result in extreme humidity levels, hence must be regulated accordingly.

Pets

Pets  shed fur and dead skin, commonly known as dander. They also roll in smelly areas such as their litter box and houses.

Dander from pets such as rabbits, hamsters, dogs and cats has a negative impact on indoor air quality.This is because they stay in the air for an extended period, unlike other allergens.

Dander contains a protein that is an allergy and asthma trigger. Fur can also cause allergic reactions.

To improve air quality. Investing in good air filters will help alleviate the problem. Changing the air filter every month is also essential.

Dust

Household dust accumulation from animals, pollen, soil, dead, lead, insects and other sources has an impact on the indoor air quality.

Household dust is a nuisance for allergic people. 

Here are some ways to reduce household dust.

• Dust your house regularly. 
• Use a microfibre rather than feather dusters to trap dust. Feather dusters keep dust hence it ends up landing on the surface again.
• Vacuum clean your furniture, rugs, carpets and baseboards regularly.
• Come up with a dust cleaning schedule to help you avoid dust build up.

Volatile organic compounds (VOC’s)

It is inevitable to have VOCs in your home. From new flooring, paint, cleaning supplies, or even purchasing toxic air fresheners, it’s unavoidable. However, having large amounts of VOCs can lead to;

• Allergies
• Fatigue
• Nausea and other health related issues.

However, you can improve your indoor air quality by : 

• using VOC free products such as non toxic air fresheners
• Improving your ventilation
• Sealing any products that emit harmful gasses after use
• Storing such VOCs in a garage, toolshed, or external storage closet where their emissions will not reach the house.

Most occurring pollutant sources at home

Here are some of the pollutants  you should be aware of that lead to poor indoor air quality, hence you should consider how you use them.

• Combustion sources such as wood, coal, kerosene, and gas
• Tobacco products
• Naturally occurring substances such as pet dander, mold, etc
• Pesticides, lead, asbestos
• Ozone from some air cleaners
• Cleaning supplies.

Bottom line

Maintaining good indoor air quality is essential for the health and well-being of individuals and families. 

Poor indoor air quality can lead to a range of health problems, including respiratory issues, allergic reactions, headaches, and fatigue. In some cases, it can also cause long-term health effects such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. 

By paying attention to indoor air quality and taking steps to improve it, we can create healthier and more comfortable indoor environments for ourselves and those around us.