Today more than ever, our home is a sanctuary where we are with our loved ones and we feel more secure. The circumstances we have been through in recent months have made us more aware of the pollutants that can enter our home and cause irritation, respiratory diseases, headaches and other consequences to our long-term health. That is why a question is constant: how to keep the air in your home clean? Here we give you these tips!
The importance of knowing air quality
In large cities, the Air Quality Index (ICA) is reported daily , for example in Mexico City last year the 101 IMECA points were exceeded in 70 days, which indicates poor air quality. This is extremely important data, but studies by the Consumer Product Safety Commission show that an average person spends 90% of their day inside a building, so these figures are not enough.
Taking this into account, it is important to know the quality of the air in our environment since a large number of household activities produce pollutants: when cooking volatile organic compounds are produced (responsible for the pleasant smell we perceive when preparing a dish), cleaning we use chemicals and when we use aerosols or put on perfume we introduce foreign substances.
While you will never have a completely sterilized space, international organizations have established acceptable limits for each contaminant. In this sense, it is difficult to know the quality of the air in our home on our own, but on the market there are air purifiers with dust and gas sensors that show the user how clean the environment is.
The effects of poor air quality
When living in a place where the air may not be the most suitable, the effects that pollutants have on our body are immediate, such as irritation to the eyes, nose and throat , headaches, dizziness, fatigue or respiratory diseases.
However, the situation worsens when the long-term consequences are taken into account. The US Environmental Protection Agency notes that recurrent exposure to pollutants can lead to respiratory problems, heart disease and cancer.
To counteract these effects, experts and state organizations recommend, in the first place, controlling the sources of possible contamination (aerosols, tobacco products and polluting materials).
Ventilation is added to this step, it is important to open windows to ventilate spaces and reduce as much as possible the time of activities that contaminate the environment. Finally, it is advisable to purchase an air purifier to know the quality of the air and reduce the pollutants in the environment.
In this sense, a good example of this is the air purifier that Samsung sells that has a four-color sensor to show the user the quality of the air. In the same way, it filters and captures ultrafine particles in the air, processes that help reduce respiratory problems or diseases.
In addition, its high-efficiency HEPA filter captures up to 99.9% of 0.3㎛ particles, and its active carbon particle filter , allows to neutralize odors inside the house, in places that are difficult to ventilate.
In the end, our home is the place where we spend most of our existence, so every step we take to improve its environment is essential to enrich our lifestyle and take care of our health.