Facts about Indoor Air Quality

• According to the American College of Allergies, 50% of all illness is aggravated or caused by polluted indoor air.
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) themselves declare that indoor air is anywhere from 2 to 10 times more hazardous than outdoor air.
• The EPA also warns us that the indoor air quality is the United States’ number one environmental health problem.
• Today’s homes and buildings are built air-tight, and contain a long list of pollution sources (see list). A result, natural air-cleansing agents such as ozone and negative ions are kept out, while contaminants are kept in.
• A recent study found that the allergen level in super-insulated homes is 200% higher than it is in ordinary homes.
• According to Scientific America, a baby crawling on the floor inhales the equivalent of 4 cigarettes a day, as a result of the out-gassing of carpets, molds, mildews, fungi, dust mites, etc.
• Most people spend well over 90% of their time indoors. In which case, indoor air is going to impact our health far more than outdoor air.
• The EPA informs us that 6 out of 10 homes and buildings are “sick”, meaning they are hazardous to your health to occupy as a result of airborne pollutants.

Common Sources of Indoor Air Pollution in your Home or Building

People

With increasing COIVD-19 cases in Bedford County we want you to be fully informed of the air quality products that we can provide you for the safety of your family.

About 80% of what you see floating in a ray of sunshine entering your home is dead human skin flakes. And remember, we can only see about 10% of the airborne pollutants. Dead human skin is a staple of the dust mit diet. Negative ions remove dead skin from the air, which also removes a host of dust mites and other bacteria from the air you breathe. Ozone destroys many of the bacteria that reside on these flakes.

Dust

About 40 pounds of dust is generated per 1,500 square feet every year. Each speck of dust carries about 40,000 dust mites and other illness-causing bacteria and viruses. Negative ions also remove dust particles from the air, which also removes the contaminants residing on the m. Ozone destroys the micro-organisms carried by dust.

Allergens

Pollen, ragweed, and a variety of other allergens find their way into the home from outdoors.

Carpet, Plywood and Other Construction Materials

The “new” smell associated with new carpet, newly painted walls, new home, remodeled room etc. is actually the out-gassing of the chemical solutions use to treat these products. Wood floors are better for the health than carpet, but carpet is much more affordable. Ozone oxidizes these chemical fumes so they are no longer toxic.

Mattresses and Furnishings

Treated with fire retardants and other chemicals, which add to the chemical vapors we breathe inside. Chemicals are oxidized by ozone.

Pillows and Blankets

Dust mites comprise over 50% of the weight of the average pillow.

HVAC Systems

Air ducts serve as a fertile breeding ground for mold spores.

Household Cleaners, Insecticides, and Pesticides

We literally poison the air we breathe with chemical fumes and toxins when we use these products.

Moist or Humid Environments

Mold spores, bacteria, and mildew thrive in dampened towels, wash cloths, and moist or humid areas. Ozone destroys molds and bacteria, while negative ions remove floating mold spores from the air. Children in homes with high mold show persistent, cold-like symptoms – 300% more than average.

Pets

Airborne animal and/or pet dander (dried spit from the animal that breaks off the end of their hair and floats in air since they are small) is a common trigger for allergies and asthma. Plus, the feces from your pet emits added contaminants into the air.

Insects

Insects and bug feces are a powerful allergen. In a recent extensive study by the New England Journal of Medicine, more than half the homes tested had high levels of cockroaches, Children living in these homes were than three times as likely to be hospitalized for asthma.

Smoking

Smoking in the home or vehicle leaves the air being breathed dense with over 3600 cancer-causing toxins. These toxins also cling to the clothing we wear, and release themselves when we enter other homes and buildings.

Vehicles

Recent studies show that most people face their worst exposure to polluted air while inside their vehicle. Pollen builds up in your vehicle’s a/c system. Plus exhaust and gasoline fumes easily enter your vehicle.

Based on Studies by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), billions of dollars are spent annually for medication to help Americans breathe or cure their respiratory illnesses. Eleve million Americans have asthma. twenty-eight million have hay fever and other allergies. Physicians are now discovering that the solution to the problems of many of these people is not in medicine, but in reducing the pollutants in the air they breathe.

Every year at least 6,000 new chemical compounds are developed. Many are used indoors everyday at home and at work. Add to these pollutants, the mold, mkldew, bacteria, viruses, tobacco smoke, grease, pollen, dirt, asbestos, lead and numerous other contaminants that can affect our breathing and our health. Then allow them to circulate in today’s nearly airtight indoor environment . No wonder our indoor air is, on average, two to ten times as polluted as the worst outdoor air.

• Viruses and bacteria that thrive in  the ducts, coils, and recesses of building ventilation systems have been proven to cause ailments ranging from influenza to tuberculosis. Some HVAC systems have been found to contain up to 27 species of fungi.

Based on information given at the First Annual air Quality convention sponsored by EPS, April 1992, Tampa, Florida:

• 40% of all buildings pose a serious health hazard due to indoor air pollution, acdng to the World Health Organization
• EPA estimates an 18% annual production loss to American business due to poor indoor air quality.
• 20% of all employees have a major illness related to indoor  air pollution such as allergies, asthma, auto-immune diseases. etc.
• EPA says high levels of formaldehyde cause cancer.
• Scientists now recognize that pollutants, even at acceptable concentration, combined together in an indoor environment have a synergistic negative effect.

Proudly serving your air conditioning and heating needs in Bedford County, Huddleston, Lynchburg, Virginia and surrounding areas.

Contact us now for an appointment!