Fighting Sickness This Winter Begins At Home

A Two-Part Series on Indoor Air Quality for Healthy Lungs Month

In the battle to keep ourselves and families healthy, we often focus on the outward foes.  We scrub our hands like we’re prepping for surgery and use the paper towel to turn the faucet off.  We awkwardly use our shirt sleeves to open public doors.  We bathe ourselves in hand sanitizer throughout the day. And yet, despite these valiant efforts, many of us and our children will have respiratory illnesses this winter.

WHY? 

Because you spend most of your time in your home, according to the EPA and thousands of research studies, it’s very possible that it’s your home that’s making you sick.  As the doors and windows close up for the season, the impact of poor indoor air is magnified without the influx of fresh air.

Children are especially prone to the health effects of poor indoor air quality.

The rise in childhood respiratory issues is documented, growing, and alarming.  As we’ve reported previously, children are especially susceptible due to their developing systems and they breathe in more air per breath than we do.  The really scary part:  not only are the effects short term, like getting sick, but the impact can be long term, manifesting in asthma and other chronic issues.  For more details, check out this previous post from our blog titled "Children & Indoor Air Quality."

You can’t see, smell, taste or feel indoor air quality problems.

Well, at least not the real serious ones.  Sure, certain odors can be red flags but the most dangerous culprits are the ones you can never detect without professional testing. Chances are that you won’t know there is an air quality problem until someone in your family is suffering from persistent sinus problems, develops allergy symptoms, has difficulties breathing or some similar ailment. These are the tip-offs that there is an air quality problem lurking in your home.

Is your family’s health and your peace of mind worth a few hundred dollars?

Many people think indoor air quality testing is too expensive to be practical. Some types can be. But certain methods are non-destructive and can be done for less than $400. Pro Energy’s testing method falls in this category and tests for more than 400 air borne contaminants and mold VOCs.  Not only is there an increase in homeowners doing testing, but potential home buyers are now asking for air analysis prior to purchase.

Next Edition: What’s the difference between an air purifier and an air cleaner?