Pollutant Sources
There are many sources of indoor air pollution in any home. These include combustion sources such as oil, gas, kerosene, coal, wood, and tobacco products; wet or damp carpet, and cabinetry or furniture made of certain pressed wood products; products for household cleaning and maintenance, personal care, or hobbies; central heating and cooling systems and humidification devices; and outdoor sources such as radon, pesticides, and outdoor air pollution.
Indoor Air and Your Health
Health effects from indoor air pollutants may be experienced soon after exposure or, possibly, years later.
Immediate effects may show up after a single exposure or repeated exposures. Such immediate effects are usually short-term and treatable. Sometimes the treatment is simply eliminating the person's exposure to the source of the pollution, if it can be identified. Symptoms of some diseases, including asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and humidifier fever, may also show up soon after exposure to some indoor air pollutants.
Other health effects may show up either years after exposure has occurred or only after long or repeated periods of exposure. These effects, which include some respiratory diseases, heart disease, and cancer, can be severely debilitating or fatal. It is prudent to try to improve the indoor air quality in your home even if symptoms are not noticeable.
|
Improving the Ventilation System
HVAC systems must be properly designed, installed, and maintained to ensure good operation. The following recommendations may improve the ventilation in your home:
- Follow a regular maintenance schedule for the HVAC system. Regularly service the filters and humidifiers.
- Install special high efficiency filters in the HVAC system.
- Consult with an HVAC contractor to ensure your system is properly designed for your home.
- Use exhaust fans in potential problem areas, such as bathrooms, kitchens, and hobby rooms, to exhaust contaminants generated inside the home.
When temperatures are severe during the summer and winter, air-to-air heat exchangers may be installed to supply make-up air. These units exhaust stale, warm air from the house and transfer the heat in that air to fresh air being supplied from the outside. In air-conditioned houses during the summer months, heat is transferred from the incoming warm air to the outgoing air, causing a reduction in the energy required for air conditioning.
Homeowners also can install fans that supply outdoor air directly to the return side of the HVAC system. These fans are usually installed with a timing mechanism or manual control to regulate the amount of outdoor air supplied to the structure. This type of system works effectively to supply make-up air, but it also increases the cost of operating the HVAC system since the air is not cooled or heated before it enters the home.
|
