Air quality alert! How can I help protect the air quality inside my home?

According to the EPA, Americans, on average, spend up to 90% of their time indoors, where some pollutants may potentially have concentrations two to five times higher than outside.

💨 We commonly think of indoor air contaminants as being house dust mites and mold, carbon monoxide, second-hand tobacco smoke, radon, asbestos, and nitrogen dioxide. But your personal care products, your cleaning products, and even your carpets and furnishings may be leaking more hazardous toxins into your household and polluting the air you breathe.

These toxic pollutants may include VOCs (volatile organic compounds) such as benzene, chemical flame retardants found in furniture and/or rugs or carpet padding, and phthalates which are found in everything from personal care products and air fresheners.

🔺 VOCs can be emitted indoors through the odorous off-gassing from a variety of household items (paint, varnishes, sealants, flooring, pressed wood products, cleaners and disinfectants, furniture, air fresheners, cosmetics and deodorant). Breathing VOCs can irritate the eyes, nose, and throat, can cause difficulty breathing and nausea, and can damage the central nervous system and other organs. Some VOCs can cause cancer.

🔺 Phthalates are common contaminants in the indoor environment occurring both in house dust and in indoor air. PVC flooring is a big contributor to phthalates in indoor air. Phthalates are often found in indoor dust and can increase risk of asthma, allergy, and wheeze.

🔺Flame retardants in furniture are another often overlooked source of contaminants called PBDEs, or polybrominated diphenyl ethers. Exposure to PBDEs has been linked in laboratory tests to neurodevelopmental delays, obesity, endocrine and thyroid disruption, cancer and other diseases.