You might think the air in your home is the safest to breathe, but pollutants can still seep in through windows, unsealed cracks, etc. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the top five air quality issues are indoor air pollutants. Many homes in Central Florida will experience these pollutants and need experts like Rainaldi Home Services to help.
The five most common indoor air pollutants include:
1. Dust Particles
No matter how often you clean your home and dust the shelves, dust particles carrying a plethora of microscopic pollutants can make you shudder. Dust is part of particulate matter—a term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. These particles come in various sizes and shapes and can increase depending on your location (proximity to construction sites and unpaved roads, for instance).
2. Smoke
We all know the problems with tobacco smoke and secondhand smoke and how they affect your and your family’s health. The EPA points out that secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 different substances, and it can move between rooms in the home and between apartments in a building. In most cases, prohibiting smoking indoors is the only way to eliminate the threat of secondhand smoke in your home.
If you have a wood-burning fireplace in your home, the biggest threat comes from the fine particles blown into the house from the fire.
3. Radon
Radioactive gas (aka “radon”) is generated naturally from the soil and can enter the house from the ground and is odorless and colorless. Having your home tested by a professional or a do-it-yourself testing kit is the only way to determine actual radon levels. It is also the second leading cause of lung cancer (second to smoking).
4. Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde is a chemical used by manufacturing companies with building materials (think compressed wood) and many household products. Formaldehyde can irritate the eyes, nose, throat, and skin, with some types of cancers due to high levels of exposure.
5. Moisture
Moisture may not be commonly considered a “pollutant,” but it can still cause havoc on not only your home’s interior but your health as well. With moisture in the home comes mold, mildew, and dust mites. This combination can cause breathing issues for those with allergies and asthma and cause physical deterioration in your home by destroying the integrity of the wood and accelerating the growth of rust.
How to Stay Healthy
So how can you keep your family healthy? The air quality experts at Rainaldi offer whole-house air filtration to assist your heating and air conditioning system’s primary air filter. Our Carrier air cleaners are up to 40 times more efficient at removing all virus-sized particles and bacteria, airborne contaminants, and breathable allergens and dust. They also provide up to 25 percent efficiency, which means it’ll cost you less to run your home’s comfort system.
Contact Rainaldi to see how we can help your Central Florida home and family breathe easier today.