BREATHE EASY

Make sure the air in your home is clean and clear
by Amy Meadows
January 2007

Outdoor air pollution has been a topic of discussion for decades, especially in highly congested cities like Atlanta where smog is a daily concern. However, in recent years, indoor air quality has started to receive an equal amount of attention as more and more research shows that the air you breathe inside is being compromised by a wide variety of pollutants and ultimately can affect your health. In fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that indoor air quality actually can be worse than outdoor air quality in some homes. And since most Americans spend more than 90 percent of their time indoors these days, you might be facing a hazard you didn’t even realize you were living with. The air at home According to Sydney Roberts, Ph.D., project manager with Southface Energy Institute, poor indoor air quality is nondiscriminating—it can be found in homes of all ages and price points. But there’s good news, too. “All of the problems with indoor air quality can be fixed,” says Matt Hoots, founder of The Hoots Group Inc., a residential performance remodeling company. The key to tackling these issues is knowledge. Once you know which indoor pollutants are the culprits and where they come from, you’ll be able to address the physical symptoms they can cause by making some healthful home improvements. Allergens and gases Indoor air pollutants can seem mysterious and frightening, especially if you can’t see or smell them. Fortunately, many of these pollutants can be identified and controlled.

Two of the most common sources of poor indoor air quality are dust mites and mold. Both are found in every home, but when they are present in higher levels and active, they can cause specific health problems. Dust mites are microscopic bugs that live off pet and human dander (also known as dust) and often burrow into items like carpeting, mattresses and stuffed toys. They are the second most prevalent allergen behind pollen. Someone who develops an allergy to dust mites can experience everything from an itchy nose and eyes to severe asthma attacks.

Mold, like dust mites, is present everywhere, but sustained exposure to high levels of the fungi can be detrimental. The EPA has even said that mold is the greatest known health threat to the indoor environment today. The symptoms associated with mold exposure vary from headaches, fatigue and eye irritation to major respiratory issues like chest tightness, chronic cough, shortness of breath and asthma.

Some of these symptoms can be connected to the presence of certain gases in your home as well. Hoots refers to the “toxic gumbo” of air pollutants in Atlanta, singling out such gases as carbon monoxide (CO) and radon (Rn). The former is a colorless, odorless gas that’s typically emitted from combustion appliances in your home, such as the hot water heater, a gas furnace or a ventless fireplace. Low levels of the gas in your system can cause fatigue, while higher concentrations have been know to lead to impaired vision, headaches, dizziness and flu-like symptoms. At its worst, though, the presence of extremely high levels of CO can have fatal consequences.

Although radon, which also is colorless and odorless, does not directly correlate to any specific physical symptoms, studies have shown it to cause lung cancer when exposure is prolonged. Radon derives from the soil or rock, especially granite, around a house, entering through cracks in the floor or walls, drains and other open areas. Luckily, home detection systems are available for both carbon monoxide and radon, alerting you if
the levels in your home become dangerous.

Careful with chemicals Unfortunately, the same is not true for many of the chemicals that could be filling your home. “Of note are all of the chemicals used today, not only on building products and materials, but also in cleaning products that are used in maintaining someone’s home,” says Carl Smith, CEO of GREENGUARD Environmental Institute. From the formaldehyde in pressed wood products, such as particleboard and fiberboard, to the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in everything from paint to liquid- based cleaners, you may not even be aware of all of the chemicals that surround you. In large quantities, formaldehyde is classified as a Class 1 carcinogen that can cause cancer. Additionally, VOCs can trigger allergies and asthma attacks, particularly in children and the elderly. “If you look at the incidence of asthma, it’s doubled over the past 30 years,” Smith says. “And it’s the same with allergies. Headaches, runny nose, scratchy throat, minor coughing, a little dizziness—these are all quite common. And there’s very clear evidence in the connection between VOCs and symptoms.”

If you feel under the weather often, you may not even know that the quality of your indoor air could be creating your symptoms. But now that you realize there is a possible link between your health and your home, it’s time to figure out what to do about it. A plan of action, “There’s an old rule of thumb, that is actually not true anymore, that houses need to breathe,” Roberts says. “The reality is that people need to breathe.” You need to ensure that the air inside your home, which ultimately comes from the outdoors, is properly filtered and as clean as possible. Gaps can allow pollutants into the home, where they get trapped and become significant allergens. “What is ideal is if the house is constructed very tightly but there is an intentional hole made, which we call a fresh air intake,” Roberts says.

Leaks often are found around the ductwork that leads to your HVAC system, and they pull bad air from the attic, basement and even crawl spaces. According to Scott Mitchell, owner of Zerodraft of Atlanta LLC, not only can cockroaches and rodents leave droppings in these areas that eventually release bacteria into the air, but also, attics and basements can let moisture and humidity into your house. The better a house is sealed, the better chance you have of reducing the moisture and humidity in your home.

Ensuring that VOCs don’t get in is another good strategy for improving your home’s indoor air quality. Paint manufacturers like Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore have come out with low-VOC paints, and many other product manufacturers are following suit. “It’s important to remember that while many cleaning supplies might give you that clean smell, those clean smells often are, in fact, chemicals that aren’t particularly good for you,” Smith says. Getting started, " If you want to take a truly close look at the quality of the air in your home, you can always seek assistance from a professional."

Many organizations and companies will evaluate your home to assess the content of your air and recommend home improvements that will help protect you and your family. For instance, Southface has established the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program, through which it trains contractors to do whole house assessments, and Atlanta-based companies like The Hoots Group and AllerScreen offer full home evaluations. As soon as you take that first step of considering indoor air quality and its potential effects, you’ll be breathing easier in no time.