These three gases have been found to be at very high levels indoors and have a direct impact on your respiratory health:
Q: How do these gases make their way into your home?
A: They do so through their uses in building materials, cleaning products, carpeting, cosmetics, paints, synthetic fragrances, cigarette smoke, waxed paper, and pressed wood products.
Another gas to be aware of is CO2. Every expired breath from your mouth or nose releases an unhealthy amount of it into your air. If you were in a small room sealed up tight for several hours you could die from your own breath. The reason is it is lacking a large percentage of the oxygen it contained upon inspiration. Pure, fresh air that rejuvenates and vitalizes you is composed of 21 percent oxygen. Even the slightest degradation of such equals unhealthy and impure air.
Did you know that a high concentration of CO2 in your air can do such things as:
The longer you are present in it the less you will notice the degradation of your air quality. Initially, if you were to step in from outside to indoors you would notice an obvious difference in the growing odor lingering in the air but the longer you are exposed it will dull your sense of smell. This occurs when CO2 concentration levels rise between 12 parts per 10,000 and higher. At this level of concentration your air is considered to be very bad.
Q: What is the best method to eliminate gaseous chemicals from indoor air?
A: Ventilation, activated carbon in the form of granules in sachets, use of activated carbon filters, and plants that remove gases from your environment.
Windows hold the power to unleash a flood of fresh, rejuvenating, and vitalizing oxygen into your household or barricade you up in your own personal gas chamber. Ventilation is the easiest, healthiest and most powerful method of purifying your air as well as significantly reducing those concentrated levels of harmful gases. It doesn’t get any easier than this. It is due to the lack of this that so many fatalities have occurred from poor indoor air quality. Without exchanging degraded, poisonous, foul air with fresh air full of its 21 percent value of oxygen, you cannot purify your air.
However, in order to achieve the full benefit of the wind in your home you must make sure to create cross ventilation or else you are just mixing fresh air with impure air. Without cross ventilation it does not take very long for degraded air to become more concentrated than the fresh air coming in. Cross ventilation is an application of windward and leeward. First you get a grasp on which side of the house the wind is blowing (windward) and open the windows and next you do the same on the side of the house it is not blowing (leeward) and open the windows. Put the two together and you achieve cross ventilation. Did you know that it is necessary for each adult present in a room or building to receive 3,500 cubic feet of fresh air on an hourly basis or at least 1 cubic foot of fresh air per second? That is exactly what it takes to reduce the high concentration of CO2 in your air down to 2 parts per 10,000, which is considered a safe level.
Q: What if I live in an area where the outdoor air is heavily polluted?
A: Depending on the type of pollution and how high it is – such as from nearby factories – it’s helpful to open the windows and ventilate for short durations off and on. It’s also highly advisable to have an abundance of plants inside, perhaps with a dehumidifier to keep extra moisture in check if the windows are always or often kept shut.
If you suffer from outdoor allergens and are hesitant to open your windows than it is highly advisable that you consider ventilating during the seasons these agitates are not present and on days in which it rains. It is also important that you purchase the type of plants that will purify your air as well as help reduce the concentration of those harmful gases that you live with. While I am not a big promoter of air purifiers, neither am I completely against them. Air purifiers do not purify your air and many of the reasons it is encouraged to purchase one is not as important as it’s emphasized.
If you desire to find out why I would make such a bold statement as well as learn which plants will aide you in the elimination of those gases and help to truly purify your air, then you are in luck. In my book Air Purifiers ExposedI explain some powerful ways to help remedy your asthma, allergy as well as indoor air quality issues. It is available in both e-book as well as print. The e-book contains color photos.
