You would be forgiven for thinking this is a silly question and that the air in your home is obviously the cleanest. Surely the air outside - with all the exhaust fumes, factory waste and other pollutants – will be far less clean than the air inside your home, right?

Wrong.

In fact, indoor air can be up to five times more polluted than the air outside, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which can have a detrimental impact on your health.

Why is the air in your home more polluted? Well there are a few different factors that make an impact, and here are two of the biggest:

Pollutants from outside entering your home

If you live in an area where the air outside has particularly high levels of pollutions – such as an urban city centre or close to industrial buildings and factories – this will also have an impact on the air inside your home.

Household products

Aerosols, paints, and even household cleaning products contain a lot more harmful chemicals than you would probably initially assume. Damaging chemicals can even be found in the furniture and paints in your home.

Impact of indoor air pollution:

High levels of indoor air pollution can be especially harmful if you suffer from allergies like hay fever, asthma or other respiratory conditions, as the lack of clean air serves to exacerbate these issues. This can be particularly dangerous if you have young children or elderly people in your household.

High levels of indoor air pollution can also cause wheezing, headaches and fatigue, leaving you feeling sluggish and low energy.

Additionally, if the air in your home contains high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – like those found in aerosols, paints and even some carpets, then breathing in too much over a long period of time can lead to an increased risk of lung and heart diseases.

How you can improve the air quality in your home:

Making sure you have a high quality air filter in your HVAC system, such as the Wingman1 filter, ensures as many pollutants are removed from the air in your home as possible.

Get your HVAC serviced annually

A key component of making sure the air you breathe at home is clean is making sure your HVAC system is working and functional, as a faulty system may be pumping all sorts of impurities back into the your air. Make sure your system is serviced annually so you know it is working properly.

Use organic products

Try to use as many organic, environmentally friendly products in your home as possible. Switching up your aerosol sprays and cleaning products to ones with less harmful chemicals in them can have a big impact on the air quality in your home.

Clean and dust regularly

As obvious as this sounds, it really can have a positive impact on the air quality in your home. Making sure you clean and dust regularly enough that dust levels aren’t allowed to build up in your home. 

 

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