Improve the air quality in your home

Considering we spend a large proportion of our lives indoors, it pays to be aware of the effect that poor air quality can have on our health.

According to YourHome, poor indoor air quality can produce a range of health effects from mild and generally non-specific symptoms such as headaches, tiredness or lethargy, to more severe effects such as aggravation of asthma and allergic responses. Most of these conditions can also arise from a number of different causes other than the quality of the air in your home.

Whether a source of air pollutants causes an indoor air quality problem or not depends on:

• the type of air pollutant
• the amount and rate at which it is released from its source
• the degree of ventilation available in the home to remove it from indoors.

People are most commonly exposed to air pollutants when they breathe in an air pollutant or allergen; exposure by swallowing or through the skin may occur in some circumstances. The body has a range of defences against airborne substances (e.g. skin, liver, immune system). Some defences keep substances out of the body; others overcome substances once they enter the body.

Some of the most common pollutants in the home, and they effect they can have on the human body, are:

• Nitrogen dioxide - Chronic respiratory disease
• Carbon monoxide - Aggravation of cardiovascular disease, poor foetal development
• Formaldehyde - Eye, nose and throat irritation
• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) - Eye, nose and throat irritation, headache, lethargy
• Passive smoke - Eye, nose and throat irritation, aggravation of asthma, chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer
• House dust mite allergens - Aggravation of asthma, nasal inflammation, eczema
• Mould spores - Aggravation of asthma, nasal irritation and inflammation
• Lead in indoor dust - Poor childhood intellectual development
• Pet dander - Aggravation of asthma and hay fever

YourHome recommends four easy steps to improving the quality of air in your home:

• Eliminate — Identify the source of air problems and wherever possible eliminate through better product selection and design.
• Ventilate — If too little fresh air enters a home, pollutants can accumulate to levels that can pose health and comfort problems. Ventilate the home to remove these.
• Separate — Separate problem materials from occupants by using air barriers or sealers such as coatings.
• Absorb — Indoor plants can be used to improve the quality of the indoor environment, as well as add beauty.

For further information, visit YourHome.