Indoor Air Pollution and Health

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) refers to the air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants. Understanding and controlling common pollutants indoors can help reduce your risk of indoor health concerns. Health effects from indoor air pollutants may be experienced soon after exposure or, possibly years later.
What can you do?

There’s more to improving your home air quality that you might have thought at first.
1) Regularly changing air filters to improve home air filtration is a great start.
2) Have a licensed HVAC technician inspect and maintain your equipment twice a year or by season. To help ensure a safe environment for your family, contact one of our air-quality specialists. We provide a free evaluation to help review your HVAC system. Our services can help make your home’s air quality cleaner and more comfortable.
3) When adjusting clocks, change batteries in smoke alarms, as well as radon and carbon monoxide detectors.
4) Clean water-damaged carpets and materials or consider replacement.
5) Reduce the potential of buildup of allergy-causing pollutants by keeping your house clean.
6) Take special precaution when operating fuel-burning appliances to avoid leakage.
7) Store and dispose of household chemicals in a safe manner.

Immediate Effects

Some effects show up after a single exposure or repeated exposures to a pollutant. Effects include irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. These effects are usually short-term and treatable. Usually by simply eliminating the exposure to the source of the pollution symptoms will subside. However, some household air pollutants symptoms of diseases such as asthma may show up, be aggravated or become worse.

Long-Term Effects

Other health effects don’t show up until years after exposure. Diseases such as heart disease, cancer, or respiratory diseases can show up in people who have been exposed and can be debilitating or fatal. It is important to improve indoor air quality with a first-class HVAC system.