Reducing VOCs In Your Home
Did you know that the air inside your
home is, on average, two to five times more polluted than the air outside?
Because we spend the majority of our time indoors, homeowners are quickly
realizing the importance of keeping their indoor air as clean as possible.
According to the Environmental
Protection Agency, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are one important
contributing factor to poor indoor air quality. VOCs are emitted as gases from many
everyday items, including paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning
supplies, pesticides, furnishings, building materials and cleaning materials.
VOCs can have a detrimental affect on
your health. In the short-term, they can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation;
headaches; loss of coordination and nausea. Over the long term, VOCs have been
attributed to damaging the liver, kidney and central nervous system. Some are
also known to cause cancer. The compounds have a particularly damaging effect
on people with asthma or other breathing issues.
Thankfully, there are ways you can
reduce your exposure to VOCs:
·
Buy
products that are labeled no- or low-VOC, including paint and cleaners.
·
Increase
ventilation when using products that emit VOCs.
·
Use
household products according to manufacturer's directions.
·
Throw
away unused or little-used containers safely and only purchase the amounts you
need. VOCs can “leak” out of closed containers you have stored on shelves and
in cabinets.


Install
fans. Bathroom and kitchen
fans that exhaust outdoors remove contaminants directly from the room where the
fan is located and also increase the outdoor air ventilation rate. Consider installing a mechanical ventilation system, which
introduces fresh air using ducts and fans, instead of relying on holes or cracks in the walls and windows.
Add
an air cleaner. There are many types and sizes of air
cleaners on the market, ranging from inexpensive portable models to
sophisticated whole-house systems. Some air cleaners are highly effective at
particle removal, while others, including most tabletop models, are much less
so. Air cleaners are generally not designed to remove gaseous pollutants.
Thanks To Nari.Org
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