How to Protect Your Home from Indoor Air Pollution

While people have started to wake up to the fact that they need to be more concerned about the quality of their indoor air, it still doesn't seem to be enough. While the Environmental Protection Agency has cited the main cause of this type of pollution being linked to sources that release gases or particles, these are not the only causes. Inadequate ventilation is also a problem yet another major problem is the quality of air filtering through ventilation systems.

There are numerous sources of indoor air pollution. Some of these include but are not limited to:

• Tobacco Products
• Coal
• Damp Carpet
• Certain Household Cleaning Products
• Pesticides
• Outdoor Pollution
• Just to name a few

The important thing is to find a way to reduce or eliminate the amount of pollutants you and your family are exposed to inside your home. Your house is supposed to be a safe haven. Yet without taking precautionary steps you just might be causing more harm than good for your loved ones. The first step is making a conscious effort to learn more about how to prevent this problem in the first place.

Making Smart Choices and Changes

So what are some steps you can take in order to make your home a cleaner and safer place for you and your family? For one thing you can have your caulking and weatherproofing inspected, repaired or replaced. This is the main barrier between the indoors and outdoors. Old, damaged or missing caulking means more exterior pollutants end up inside your home.

Taking care of this will reduce the amount of crossover that happens. Not to mention it will also help cut down on your utility bills. This is also the perfect opportunity to establish the condition of your doors and windows. If you have old, outdated doors and windows it might be time to update and upgrade to something that helps better to separate and insulate the interior from the exterior.

Another important step to take is to have your air ducts professionally cleaned. The air circulating inside of these can carry debris found in the ducts. So even if you have clean air going in you can end up with polluted air coming out. This can be especially problematic for anyone who suffers from allergies, asthma or other breathing related conditions.

You should also make it a point to have your heating and air conditioning system inspected and cleaned, in its entirety. Since this is what is responsible for pushing your air through the house in the first place then you need to make sure there is not a problem happening at the source. It would be like hoping to have clean water that is being pumped from a tainted well.

If you have cracks or leaks or places where a seal has broken then you could be pumping unfiltered exterior air into the interior of your house. So even if you have a filtration system at the main source of air intake, cracks will still lead to contaminated air seeping inside. Make sure during your professional inspection you get everything cleaned, thoroughly inspected, repaired and replaced as needed.

Some homeowners also find that humidification devices can help with air quality. The only concern though is that sometimes if not properly cleaned and cared for a humidifier can contribute to poor air quality. Or, if allowed to create dampness in walls, carpeting and other surfaces then it can begin to develop mildew and mold, which are pollution culprits.

Find a Professional

In addition to important services like duct cleaning or heating and cooling inspection there are other professionals who can help with your indoor air. One increasingly popular service available now is indoor air quality specialists. They will evaluate your home and the quality of the interior air. From there they can offer suggestions on how to make changes and improvements to enhance the air quality.

This may also include the use of special filters or devices meant to improve air quality. The important thing is to get started. Don't wait another day to make sure you and your family are breathing the quality of air that you should.