Hello,

Indoor air quality is something you probably haven’t given much thought to before. I’ve learned so much throughout my allergy mom journey about the importance of knowing what’s in the things we consume…and that includes our indoor air!

Indoor Air Quality –

An Allergy Mom always checks ingredients -but what about the ingredients in our AIR?!!

My life was forever changed when my children started suffering from their respective allergies. All of a sudden I was forced to become hyper-aware of the ingredients in our food, our personal care products, and cleaning products. I contacted many experts to learn as much as I could about how to make our home environment safer and was surprised to learn the importance of Indoor Air Quality for keeping my home safest for my kids. I hadn’t considered the ingredients in the very air we breathe! I had never really given air quality much thought and to be honest, I was making some of the worst possible mistakes that I could once I learned more!

Oops! For example, using my basement as a dumping ground for cardboard boxes that can get moldy, having an untreated concrete floor that literally grows dust, and accumulating piles of dust-collecting junk. I am embarrassed to admit that we even let my parents who are big smokers, smoke down there!! What I learned from the indoor air expert that came to my home was that the furnace in our basement is actually the lungs of our home and that the basement of all places should have the CLEANEST air possible as this air was literally being pumped throughout our home.

This is when I learned the keys to having the best possible indoor air quality for my home and I will share these with all of you in this and additional future blog posts.

I Am Not Alone

It turns out, I’m not the only mom who has made this same mistake! Despite our efforts to live healthier, “greener” lives, many of us out there don’t think about the air in our homes and how it impacts the health of our families.

Why should we care?

We spend more time indoors now than ever before -in fact, we spend more than 90% of our time indoors!¹
Our homes are built better and although that sounds like a good thing -it actually means that we have homes that are more airtight -sealing in the air and not allowing as much exchange with fresh air from outdoors. It is very likely that your house does not have adequate fresh air!²
Our airtight homes trap in the harmful gasses that come from the off-gassing of carpets, flooring, furniture and other building materials, VOCs and other chemicals. We are literally trapping pollutants into the air we breathe.³
Improving Indoor Air Quality is one of the most important changes you can make to improve allergies and asthma symptoms.⁴

What can we do?

Let’s start by removing allergens and pollutants that make their way into the home with proper air filtration. If your home has a furnace, this can be made easy by having a good quality air filter. Have you ever changed the air filter in your furnace? Did you even know you had one? It’s ok if you answer no to these questions! You can admit if you’re scared to venture down into the depths of the basement and have never gone near your furnace!

Now’s the time to put on the super mommy cape (or get your husband to go down there ha ha) and check out your air filter in your furnace. The standard filters that come with the furnace are not going to cut it. The expert I had come into my home told me those things allow rocks through! What we want is something that is going to get microscopic, particulates such as pollen, dust, mold, and pet dander out of our air.

Using a high-efficiency air filter is one of the least expensive -and most effective -things you can do to remove harmful allergens and pollutants from the air in your home, improving your indoor air quality and the health of your family.

An Asthma & Allergy Friendly Solution:

There is a new brand of Air Filters on the market by Lysol that are the first ones to be certified Asthma & Allergy Friendly^TM by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). These filters:

are chemical-free
trap pollutants and allergens
neutralize odors naturally
inhibit the growth of bacteria using a mineral-based, antimicrobial agent
reduce pollen by 95%
reduce dust mites in the air by 92%
reduce pet dander by 85%
leave you with cleaner, fresher, healthier indoor air -for a healthier family.

There are many different air filtration options available to you. I would suggest researching the prices and features and choosing the one that works best for your family. Taking the time to do this research and to find a filtration system for your furnace will be of huge benefit to improving your indoor air quality.

I will also be posting future blog posts on dust and other contaminants to our indoor air quality. Check back soon and as always please reach out to me if you would like more information.

In good health,

Melissa xo

Sources:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1989. Report to Congress on indoor air quality: Volume 2. EPA/400/1-89/001C. Washington, DC.
“How to Get the Ventilation That You Need in Your House” http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/yohoyohe/inaiqu/inaiqu_009.cfm
“Care for Your Air: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality” by the EPA: United States Environmental Protection Agency. www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/careforyourair.html#improving
“Tips to Control Indoor Allergens” by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. http://www.aafa.org/display.cfm?id=9&sub=18&cont=533

Original Post Date:  August 5, 2013.
Last Update: May 7, 2017.

Indoor Air Quality: Have you checked the ingredients in our…air?