AC-Appliance Pros
Indoor Air Quality
Homes
Biological Sources of Pollution:
Living and Deadly
Thou shalt not kill . . . Well, most people will make exceptions
for the mold, dust mites and cockroaches that foul indoor air.
Animal dander and pollen, byproducts of living organisms, also
are high on the list of biological pollutants.
Mold and dust mites multiply in warm, moist environments.
Discourage them by keeping the relative humidity at less than
45%, says Dr. Paul Kubic, a pediatric lung specialist in St.
Paul, Minn., who is involved with the American Lung Association's
air-quality programs. (Dr. Walt Lyons, a certified consulting
meteorologist for outdoors and indoors, says you can measure
indoor humidity with a hygrometer, about $8 and up at hardware
stores.)
Signs of elevated humidity include a musty smell, moisture
condensation on windows and walls, and mold on books, shoes or
other items. Discard most items that are damaged by mold and
mildew.
"In 48 hours (after exposure to moisture), carpet, sheetrock
and insulation can be growing mold," says Joyce Stanton,
an indoor air quality specialist in the Dallas office of the
Environmental Protection Agency. "If you have a large area
of mold, the quick fix is to spray a biocide on it to kill it.
But if someone in your household is allergic to mold spores,
they're allergic to dead ones, too. It needs to be removed."
"Mold is an incredibly important issue indoors,"
says Professor Bill Angell, Indoor Air Quality Project director
for the University of Minnesota. In addition to asthma flare-ups,
Mr. Angell says molds can cause cancer and bleeding of the lungs
in infants, which often is fatal.
Keeping dry
These strategies can help reduce indoor moisture:
- Fix roof and plumbing leaks
- Prevent seepage into the home by correcting roof, gutter
and drainage problems
- Lay plastic over dirt in crawl spaces
- Vent the clothes dryer to the outdoors
- Run the central climate control system or a dehumidifier
- Cover pots when cooking
- Don't hang wet laundry indoors
- Run ventilation fans when cooking and bathing. Run the fan
15 minutes after bathing.
Death to dust mites
Mr. Angell says a phased approach usually is best. "Take
small steps and see when the problems stop. First, launder linens
in hot water - that's 130 to 140°.
"If that doesn't do the trick, you can enclose your mattress
and pillow in plastic, then remove rugs, then minimize window
treatments that collect dust. The window treatments have dust
only, because mites congregate only where we are."
In addition, these tips from the American Lung Association,
Consumer Product Safety Commission and EPA can help you breathe
easier:
- Launder bedding frequently in hot water. A wash every one
to two weeks is best for sheets and pillowcases, and although
weekly washing for other bedding is ideal, Dr. Kubic tempers
his recommendation to one to two months for pillows, comforters
and spreads.
- Encase pillows and mattresses in vinyl. Incidentally, Dr.
Kubic, who frequently consults research data to guide patients
in product choices, says "there's no really good data"
about the effectiveness of anti-microbial pillows against dust
mites.
- Don't carpet high-humidity areas such as bathrooms and kitchens.
Rethink wall-to-wall carpet altogether if someone in the house
is sensitive to dust mites or mold, both of which can lurk in
carpet. As an alternative, the lung association recommends washable
area rugs over hard-surface, easy-to-clean floors.
- Vacuum smart. A central vacuum-cleaner system is the best
option because it exhausts outside.
Although Dr. Kubic says there's no clinical proof of the benefits
of high-efficiency bags with regular vacuum cleaners, he believes
they probably are more effective at trapping allergens than regular
bags.
Allergy-prone individuals should wear a dust mask when vacuuming
or should not do the vacuuming. And particularly sensitive people
should leave the house during vacuuming.
- Consider leather-covered furniture.
- Air-duct cleaning "is not a bad idea," Dr. Kubic
says. A technician can examine the ducts when you have the furnace
checked and advise whether they need cleaning.
According to the EPA, dust in ducts and on air-intake grilles
is normal. To weigh the pros and cons of duct cleaning, visit
the EPA's Web site: www.epa.gov/-iedweb00/airduct.html.
Rousting roaches
Roach feces, besides being unsanitary, pollute the air. But
what can you do?
Cleanliness and removal of food sources are critical, says
Barbara Bannon Harwood, a Carrollton builder whose firm, Enviro
Custom Homes, specializes in healthful environments. She's also
the author of The Healing House: How Living in the Right House
Can Heal You Spiritually, Emotionally and Physically.
"Roaches tend to go for the easy stuff like bread crumbs,"
she says. So keep opened food (cereals, pasta, crackers, etc)
in air tight jars and plastic containers. Ms. Harwood recommends
thorough cleaning of all cabinets (especially under a sink) and
then putting a light sprinkling of boric acid along the back
and sides of cabinets. Conventional pesticides kill bugs, quickly,
but they contribute to poor air quality, Ms. Harwood says.
Throw away anything old, moldy or wet, such as rags and sponges,
she says. Keep brushes and sponges in plastic tubs (you can make
cleaning caddies from cut-away milk jugs) so they don't touch
the floor. Clean under-sink spills promptly. Clean behind the
refrigerator and wash the pan beneath it. In apartments, neighbors
should do the cleaning and boric acid routing at the same time
to be effective, Ms. Harwood advises.
"If you clean up and use boric acid, six weeks later
the roaches should be gone."
CAUTION: Boric acid is
dangerous if ingested, so don't use it around small children
or pets, such as on the floor where they can come into contact
with it, Ms. Harwood says.
Pet problems
Pet dander (particles from fur, feathers and skin) and the
saliva deposted on fur can be a serious threat to asthmatic or
highly sensitive individuals.
The best advice: Keep warm-blooded pets outside. If they must
stay indoors, bathe pets weekly and keep them out of the bedrooms
of sensitive individuals, the lung association advises.
Pollen
Pollens can blow in or be tracked in, says Ms. Stanton of
the EPA. An effective vacuum cleaner (the August 1997 Consumer
Reports reviews vacuums for allergen control) should capture
pollens after they have settled to the floor because they are
relatively large, heavy particles, she says. "You're probably
bothered (by pollens) when you lie on the floor or when they're
stirred up by someone walking or vacuuming," Ms. Stanton
says.
Use the same precautions when vacuuming as described previously;
also be careful about dusting.
"Don't use a feather duster, which sprays (pollen) all
over the place," she says. "Use a damp cloth."
Another precaution: "Don't bring fresh air into the house
when pollen is high," she says. The Dallas Morning News
publishes pollen counts on its weather page; call (972)255-3749
for a current reading.)
Source: The Dallas Morning News
Electronic Air Cleaners
Electronic Air Cleaners are designed to remove polluting and
irritating particles from the air, so we've known for a long
time that they make homes cleaner and more comfortable. Now,
thanks to our customers, we're documenting how much healthier
clean air makes many people feel.
A survey of 1,400 people who, on their warranty return card,
said that "allergy relief" was a primary reason for
buying one of our electronic air cleaners. The people we sent
questionnaires to had lived with the air cleaner for at least
ten months, but not more than three years (through at least one
allergy season, but not so long that they would not be able to
recall the initial effects of the air cleaner on their allergy
symptoms)>
The results are impressive. So much so that they've been published
in a leading allergy medical journal, and are summarized in the
following pages. Even more gratifying than the st6atistics are
the comments by people who took the survey. We've quoted their
first-person experiences throughout this brochure.
Will an Electronic Air Cleaner (EAC) give you relief from
your allergy symptoms? No one can guarantee that, because the
degree of relief is dependent on many factors - including what
you're allergic to, the severity of your allergies, and your
lifestyle.
However, there is no question that a high efficiency EAC can
significantly reduce the amount of dust and indoor air pollutants,
including airborne allergens, present in almost every home.
And all of us, whether we have allergies or not, can breathe
easier with cleaner indoor air. It's the way our homes should
be.
Almost all of the people responding to the survey said they
had allergic reactions to one or more of some of the most common
indoor air pollutants: Pollen (87%), dust mites (68%), mold spores
(63%), and pet dander (53%). How quickly did they feel the benefits
of an electronic air cleaner?
- 40% said they felt better "within days."
- Another 35% felt relief "within weeks."
- An additional 14% said they felt better "within months."
Four out of every five respondents said they found additional
relief with an electronic air cleaner. Of those,
- 85% said they were able to sleep better
- 28% said they had more energy
- 28% felt more physically active
- 23% said they missed fewer days of work or school
We asked our respondents to check off all the symptoms they
felt relief from
- Nasal/sinus congestion 76%
- Watery/itchy eyes: 50%
- Runny nose: 40%
- Wheezing: 32%
- Headache: 29%
- Sore throat: 23%
Among survey respondents taking medication for allergies,
about 70% said they were able to reduce (and for some, eliminate)
their medication after the EAC was installed. That's significant
because Americans are estimated to spend over $2 billion each
year on over-the-counter medications alone for allergy and asthma.
- 50%-75% reduction in medication for 15% of respondents taking
medication
- 25%-50% reduction for 26% of these respondents
- 5%-25% reduction for 25% of these respondents
- 5% were able to completely eliminate allergy medication
How impressed with the benefits of their EAC were the people
who took this survey?
- 58% said they already had recommended it to people they know
with allergies
- Another 33% said they would recommend it
Here's how the study's authors summarize their findings:
"We conclude that the use of a high quality electronic
air cleaning filter in the home is effective in reducing the
morbidity, symptoms and medication usage, as well as reducing
economic and social loss, due to allergy."
See that sunbeam streaming in through your window? What you're
really seeing is light reflecting off particles floating in the
air. Unfortunately, what you see is only the largest one percent
of all airborne pollutants in your home. The other 99 percent
- roughly a million particles per cubic foot of indoor air -
are invisible to the naked eye. What are they?
Dust mites, their carcasses and waste products, Pollen and
spores from plants, mold and mildew, Tobacco and wood smoke from
fireplaces or wood burning stoves, Cooking grease, Bacteria and
viruses, Pet dander, Insecticide dusts . . . and more.
These airborne particles "trigger" many of the most
common allergies. And, while many people try to escape these
pollutants by going indoors, there is growing evidence that the
risk from air pollution inside your house is considerably greater
than the risk from air pollution outdoors.
Who is most at risk from indoor air pollution? Infants, children
and the elderly. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Smokers
and people on regular medication. And anyone who has and allergy
or other respiratory illness.
There are three ways to improve the indoor air quality in
your home:
- Source Control
- Dilution
- Filtration/Air Cleaning.
No one method can solve all of your potential indoor air pollution
problems. Optimum relief requires a combination of all three.
Ozone is a normal part of our atmosphere created naturally
by the action of the sun on oxygen. It is also created by man
as a common by-product of processes such as combustion, power
generation and from the operating of common appliances such as
electric hair dryers and sun lamps.
Like other appliances, high efficiency electronic air cleaners
will produce trace levels of ozone when they are running. However,
the typical range of ozone in homes with an electronic air cleaner
is well below the level already occurring outside.
If you feel you may be sensitive to ozone, you should contact
your physician.
Some simple physics explains why electronic air cleaners are
so effective. They use a principle called two stage electrostatic
precipitation:
1. Charging Section:
Most large particles are caught on the pre-filter screen.
Smaller particles flow through the screen to the first section
of the cell where they are zapped by an electrical charge
2. Collector Section:
Charged particles continue through the cell to the collecting
section
These particles are attracted like magnets to a series of electrically
charged plates
The electronically cleaned air is circulated back to your home
Whole-house or portable room-size electronic air cleaners,
which is right for you? The best relief and value is provided
by a central whole-house unit. If a whole-house unit is not practical,
a portable room air cleaner placed in your bedroom is an excellent
option.
Everyday Benefits
The most important benefits from a high efficiency electronic
air cleaner are a healthier, cleaner and more comfortable indoor
environment for you and your family. There are other advantages,
too.
No replacement filter costs:
Electronic Air Cleaners have durable, light-weight cells that
can be washed in your automatic dishwasher (check your dishwasher
manufacturer's instructions) - or soaked and rinsed in any suitable
container.
A whole-house electronic air cleaner pays for itself in many
ways.
- It uses the same amount of electricity as a 40-watt light
bulb, but saves even more in energy costs because it keeps central
heating/cooling equipment coils cleaner. That lowers operating
costs, and reduces wear and tear so furnaces, air conditioners
and heat pumps, last longer.
- Because your indoor air is cleaner, you save time, money
and work on routine house cleaning. It also protects furnishings,
walls and draperies.
Whole house electronic air cleaners should be professionally
installed.
If you don't know which firm to call, ask if the contractor
is a member of the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA).
consumers can call (972)247-5383 or 1-800-260-8041 to confirm
the contractor is a member or to locate a contractor who subscribes
to the organization's code or ethics.
©2007 AC-Appliance Pros All Rights Reserved
1701 North Greenville Ave. Suite 606
Richardson, Texas 75081
972-664-0055
TACL B00027067E
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