Beating Indoor Air Pollution

Troubled by indoor air pollution? These days, who isn't? You don't have to live with a smoker to suffer from indoor air pollutants -- mold, pet dander, dust motes and mites, outgassing from construction materials, and natural gases can all negatively affect indoor air quality and endanger your health. Some indoor pollutants, like radon and carbon monoxide, can even be deadly.

How indoor environmental pollution can affect your health

Although we humans are pretty tough, we respond negatively to a wide variety of pollutants. And air pollution isn't just for the city anymore. External pollution from thousands of miles away enters our homes, construction materials emit pollutants as they age, pets can cause allergies, and of course there's the old standby, cigarette smoke.

Indoor pollution (biological and otherwise) can cause:

• Malaise
• Allergies
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Headaches
• Fevers
• Coughing
• Chest tightness

If it's bad enough, it can significantly decrease your quality of life.

What you can do to increase the quality of your indoor air

Only solid, quality construction can protect you from external environmental pollution, so make sure your weather-stripping and such is up to grade. Otherwise, it's technology to the rescue. Gadgets like radon and carbon monoxide detectors are good ways to keep the gaseous pollutants at bay, but for everything else there's a whole universe of air purifiers and filtration systems. Even a good HEPA filter in your furnace can cut way down on indoor environmental pollutants, and a purifier can really work wonders in just a few hours. You can find everything you need here, along with sufficient air quality information to help you make healthy decisions.