Your Home Might Be Polluted and Here’s What You Can Do About It

SPONSORED BY DYSON -- Did you know that our homes are not free of pollution? Here are a few things parents should know about indoor air pollution 😉

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Once we become parents, our paranoia gets into overdrive. Things that we have never considered before are seen in a new light – especially anything related to our kids and their health and safety. We get car seats to ensure that they’re safe whenever we’re traveling, we get them locator watches to ensure that we know and can reach them wherever they are, and we give them sanitizing wipes and sprays to ensure that they’re protected from viruses and bacteria – we do all these and more to ensure that they get home safe and sound. However, have we really considered if our home is really safe for them?

A common perception among parents is that kids are generally safe at home — safe from viruses, bacteria, and even pollution. But what parents need to know is that this might not be the case, as health risks might also be lurking within the home. Health risks such as air pollution. If this is the first time you have heard of it, then here are a few things you should know.

What is indoor air pollution?

The term indoor air refers to the air within any closed building, such as our home, office, school, and even public areas such as malls and hospitals. When the air quality in these indoor areas get contaminated by smoke, smell, chemicals, or even particles, this is now referred to as indoor air pollution.

Indoor air pollution can be considered as more of a health concern than an environmental issue, as it can pose serious health risks to us and our family.

What can cause indoor air pollution at home?

Indoor air pollution inside our homes can be caused by a number of factors such as toxic products, inadequate ventilation, high temperatures, and even humidity. Other causes include:

  • Outdoor air pollution including pollen, particulate matter, and city pollution can enter and get trapped in our home.
  • Mould, mildew, and bacteria that grow in damp environments.
  • Dust mites found in couches and mattresses.
  • Animal dander, pet hair, and disintegrated faeces from pets, which can spread microscopic material within our home.
  • Tobacco or cigarette smoke that comes from smoking within or even outside the home
  • Formaldehyde, which can be found in paints, burning candles, and home furnishings such as rugs, carpets, flooring, and their backing materials.
  • Household products such as varnishes, paints, air fresheners, and certain cleaning products can also contribute to indoor air pollution inside our home.

How can indoor air pollution affect our health?

Indoor air pollution can pose a serious health risk not only to kids but to adults as well. Health risks include:

  • Lung and respiratory health issues such as throat, eyes, and nose irritations, allergies, asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis, and chronic pulmonary diseases.
  • Heart conditions such as hypertension, heart failure, heart attack, arrhythmia, and angina.

What are the symptoms associated with indoor air pollution?

Exposure to indoor air pollution may lead to a few symptoms, such as:

  • A general and consistent feeling of tiredness
  • Headache and dizzy spells
  • Bouts of incessant sneezes or coughs
  • Breathing difficulties
  • Clogged nose and throat
  • Irritated eyes, throat, and dry skin

As adults, we can easily identify these symptoms and do something to alleviate what we’re feeling ASAP. Sadly, it is not the same for babies and kids as it could be difficult to identify these symptoms.

How can we improve our home’s air quality?

Now that we know that our home’s air quality can directly affect our family’s health, here are a few tips that can help minimise the indoor air pollution in our home:

  • Smoking is one of the leading causes of air pollution, so if one of your family members is a smoker, ask or gently prod them to quit smoking for the sake of your kids and the whole family’s health.
  • Be more mindful of the household products you use in your home. Check your cleaning supplies, sprays, and even air fresheners for harmful ingredients and chemicals. You can also opt to use organic and environmentally-friendly products instead, especially if you have kids at home.

Use purifying fan that can help boost airflow and purify the room. A good way to ensure that indoor air pollution in our home is kept to a minimum is by using air purifying fan, such as the Dyson Pure Cool™ purifying fan. Unlike other air purifiers that only make use of a filter, Dyson Pure Cool™ purifying fan automatically sense pollution, capture gases and ultrafine particles, and project clean air to every corner of the home. Another plus is that it comes in either a large tower or small desk formats so it’s quite easy to incorporate in our home’s layout.

The Dyson Pure Cool™ purifying fan helps to ensure that our family can enjoy clean and healthy air at home. The fan use lasers to measure and detect ultrafine particles in the air at any given time: one sensor detects Volatile Organic Compounds or VOCs such as benzene, formaldehyde, and NO2. While another sensor measures relative humidity and temperature – and both are extremely useful in ensuring that clean and cool air circulates within the compound. One can easily check all these via the fan’s LCD display.

At the same time, one of the highlights of Dyson’s Pure Cool™ fan is the improved filter. The purifying fan can filter 99.95% of particle pollution as small as 0.1 microns2, which includes allergens, bacteria, pollen, and mould. The combined technologies and the design of  the 350° oscillation of the Dyson Pure Cool fan can allow you to enjoy 290 litres of purified air per second!

The bladeless technology is also an advantage especially to a family with kids as you won’t have to worry about hurting your kid’s fingers. Furthermore, you can track the indoor air quality from wherever you are, just by using your device. Control the fan wirelessly by installing the Dyson Link app. It’s as simple as that!

If you or your family members have been troubled by waking up with sore eyes, itchy throat and sneezes, try the Dyson Pure Cool Fan. You will be surprised with the effectiveness. Thanks to Dyson Pure Cool™ fan, parents everywhere can be assured that their home’s indoor air pollution is minimised and their family’s health is uncompromised.

References: eSchool Today, Conserve Energy Future, Today

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