Health - How Clean is the Air Indoors?

In recent years there’s been a growing body of scientific evidence suggesting the air inside our homes can actually be just as polluted as the outdoor air in a large industrial town. With studies showing that people spend around 90% of their time indoors, it’s never been more important to minimise the risk of air pollution exposure – indoors rather than outdoors.

Old back-to-back houses of the early 1900s were often regarded as unhygienic and potential death traps. But there are growing concerns that we may have simply swapped one set of health hazards for another. Today’s sophisticated homes, with their high levels of insulation, triple-glazing, and draught excluders mean many of us could be breathing in stale air.

Of course the quality of the air in your home can impact your health or the health of those you live with. Although most people are aware of the risks from outdoor air pollution, few realise that levels of air pollutants indoors may be anywhere from 2 to 5 times greater than outdoors - and in some cases more than 100 times greater.

What can you do to have a positive impact on the quality of the air in your home? There are a few common-sense actions you can take straight away, like opening windows to get some fresh air circulating. Smoking indoors is real no-no – cigarette smoke contains deadly carbon monoxide. On that subject, check your gas appliances are regularly inspected by a qualified engineer – or at least buy a carbon-monoxide detector device.

Finally, many experts believe that, in our efforts to keep everything meticulously clean we often end up creating more hazards. Over-use of cleaning products and sprays can trigger allergic reactions and some argue that the lack of exposure to regular germs can actually weaken our immune systems.

If in any doubt, ask your local GP for advice on how you can keep the air inside your home as healthy as possible.

www.businessinberkshire.co.uk/health

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[ How Clean is the Air Indoors? ]

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