INDOOR AIR QUALITY - The air inside your home may be polluted by lead, formaldehyde, fire-retardants, radon, even volatile chemicals from fragrances. You'll also find microscopic dust, mites plus mold and heaps of pet dander. Pesticides are also linked with brain damage in young children. Make your home a no-smoling zone. Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals. Secondhand smoke increases a child's risk of developing ear and respiratory infections, asthma, cancer, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Synthetic fragrances in laundry products and air fresheners emit dozens of different chemicals into the air. You won’t find their names on the product labels. Laundry detergents, fabric softeners, dryer sheets, and air fresheners in solid, spray, and oil form may all emit such gasses.

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Indoor Air Quality

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Breathe Easy: 5 Ways To Improve Indoor Air Quality

By Jeanie Lerche Davis

We tend to think of air pollution as something outside -- smog, ozone, or haze hanging in the air, especially in summer.

But the truth is, the air inside homes, offices, and other buildings can be more polluted than the air outside.

The air inside your home may be polluted by lead (in house dust), formaldehyde, fire-retardants, radon, even volatile chemicals from fragrances used in conventional cleaners.

Some pollutants are tracked into the home. Some arrive via a new mattress or furniture, carpet cleaners, or a coat of paint on the walls.

In that mix, you'll also find microscopic dust, mites -- a major allergen -- plus mold and heaps of pet dander, says David Lang, MD, head of Allergy/Immunology at the Cleveland Clinic. "

“Even if you don't have pets, you've probably got pet dander," he tells WebMD. "It's become what we call a community allergen. Pet owners carry it around on their clothes and shed it throughout the day. You can't get away from it."

Children, people with asthma, and the elderly may be especially sensitive to indoor pollutants, but other effects on health may appear years later, after repeated exposure.

Indoor allergens and irritants have become much more important in recent decades because we're spending more time indoors, Lang says.

And because modern homes are airtight, these irritants can't easily escape. "We're all exposed to a greater degree than we were three or four decades ago," he says.

5 Simple Steps to Improve Indoor Air Quality

1. Keep your floors fresh.

Suck it up. Chemicals and allergens can accumulate in household dust for decades. By using a vacuum with a HEPA filter you can reduce concentrations of lead in your home.

You can also get rid of other toxins, like brominated fire-retardant chemicals (PBDEs) as well as allergens like pollen, pet dander, and dust mites.

Using a vacuum cleaner that has strong suction, rotating brushes, and a HEPA filter ensures that dust and dirt won’t get blown back out in the exhaust.

In high traffic areas, vacuum the same spot several times. Don't forget walls, carpet edges, and upholstered furniture, where dust accumulates.

For best results, vacuum two or more times each week and wash out your filter regularly.

Mop it up. Mopping picks up the dust that vacuuming leaves behind. You can skip the soaps and cleaners and just use plain water to capture any lingering dust or allergens.

New microfiber mops (and dust cloths) reportedly capture more dust and dirt than traditional fibers and don’t require any cleaning solutions whatsoever.

Keep it out. Put a large floor mat at every door. People track in all sorts of chemicals via the dirt on their shoes.

A door mat reduces the amount of dirt, pesticides, and other pollutants from getting into your home.

If the mat is big enough, even those who don't wipe their shoes will leave most pollutants on the mat -- not the floors in your home. 

If you live in a home built before 1978, there's a good chance that lead paint still exists on your walls. But even in a newer home, you may face lead exposure -- from lead dust tracked in from outside.

Lead dust can raise the risk of exposure for young children -- a serious problem that can damage the brain, central nervous system, and kidneys.

Pesticides are also linked with brain damage in young children. Kids are vulnerable to higher exposures because they tend to get dust on their fingers and then put their fingers in their mouths.

To best protect your family, ask people to remove their shoes when entering your home. Keep house shoes, slippers, and socks near the door.

2. Keep a healthy level of humidity. Dust mites and mold love moisture. Keeping humidity around 30%-50% helps keep them and other allergens under control.

A dehumidifier (and air conditioner during summer months) helps reduce moisture in indoor air and effectively controls allergens, Lang says. An air conditioner also reduces indoor pollen count -- another plus for allergy-sufferers.

More tips for dehumidifying your home:

Use an exhaust fan or crack open a window when cooking, running the dishwasher, or bathing.

Don't overwater houseplants.

Vent the clothes dryer to the outside.

Fix leaky plumbing to prevent moisture-loving mold.

Empty drip pans in your window air conditioner and dehumidifier. 

3. Make your home a no-smoling zone. "Probably the single most important aspect of indoor air pollution is secondhand cigarette smoke," says Philip Landrigan, MD, a pediatrician and director of the Children's Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

    Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals. Research shows that secondhand smokeincreases a child's risk of developing ear and respiratory infections, asthma, cancer, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). For the smoker, this addiction causes cancer, breathing problems, heart attacks, and stroke.

    If you want to stop smoking, support groups, nicotine-replacement therapy, and other medications can help.

    Find a method that works for you, get some support (friends, family, fellow quitters, counseling), and think positive. Focus on your reasons for quitting -- not on your cravings.

    More Americans than ever before have kicked the habit, according to the CDC. But if you relapse, make sure you don’t smoke inside the house. "If you just can't quit, at least smoke outside," Landrigan says.

4. Test for radon. Whether you have a new or old home, you could have a radon problem. This colorless, odorless gas significantly raises the risk of lung cancer.

     Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. today. If you smoke and your home has high radon levels, your risk of lung cancer is especially high.

    Radon is a radioactive gas. It comes from the natural decay of uranium found in nearly all soils. It typically moves up through the ground and into your home through cracks and holes in the foundation.

    Drafty homes, airtight homes, homes with or without a basement -- any home can potentially have a radon problem.

    Granite countertops have also been linked to radon. While experts agree that most granite countertops emit some radon, the question is whether they do so at levels that can cause cancer.

    Testing is easy, inexpensive, and takes only a few minutes. If you discover a radon problem, there are simple ways to reduce levels of the gas that are not too costly.

    Even high radon levels can be reduced to acceptable levels. The Environmental Protection Agency offers a "Consumer’s Guide to Radon Reduction."

5. Smell good naturally. You may associate that lemony or piney scent with a clean kitchen or clean clothes.

     But synthetic fragrances in laundry products and air fresheners emit dozens of different chemicals into the air.

    You won’t find their names on the product labels. Conventional laundry detergents, fabric softeners, dryer sheets, and air fresheners in solid, spray, and oil form may all emit such gasses.

    In one study, a plug-in air freshener was found to emit 20 different volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including seven regulated as toxic or hazardous under U.S. federal laws.

    But these chemicals were not included on the label -- only the word "fragrance" is required to be listed. But the actual composition of the fragrance is considered a "trade secret."

    Most fragrances are derived from petroleum products, and generally haven’t been tested to see if they have any significant adverse health effects in humans when they are inhaled. (Tests usually focus on whether a fragrance causes skin irritation.)

    Some that have been tested raise concern. Phthalates are a group of chemicals often used in fragrances and also used to soften plastics. Studies show that phthalates disrupt hormones in animals.

    What can you do?

·  Look for fragrance-free or naturally-scented laundry products.

·  Switch to mild cleaners that don't include artificial fragrances.

·  Stop using aerosol sprays -- deodorants, hairsprays, carpet cleaners, furniture polish, and air fresheners.

·  Let in fresh air. Open windows so toxic chemicals don't build up in your home. What if you or your child has pollen allergies? Then keep rooms ventilated with a filtered air- conditioning system.

·  Use sliced lemons and baking soda to get a clean scent in the kitchen.

·  Bring nature indoors. Any room is prettier with a fern, spider plant, or aloe vera. It’s also healthier. NASA research shows that indoor plants like these act as living air purifiers -- the foliage and roots work in tandem to absorb chemical pollutants released by synthetic materials. If you have kids or pets, make sure the plants aren’t poisonous if ingested.

WebMD Feature provided in collaboration with Healthy Child Healthy World Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD on January 08, 2009

Jeanie Lerche Davis, formerly with WebMD, wrote daily news stories and health features.
Ms. Davis handled media relations for several museums in Illinois and Virginia before focusing her writing career on health and medicine in 1990. In Houston, she wrote for the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital/Texas Heart Institute. She moved to Atlanta in early 1996 and wrote for the American Cancer Society, Emory University Health Sciences Center, the Atlanta Business Chronicle, and others.
She has received numerous awards, including a World Wide Web Health Award for the special report "How to Talk to Your Teen" and a Circle of Excellence Media Award from the American Society for Plastic Surgeons. 

Michael W. Smith, MD, MBA, CPT

As Chief Medical Director at WebMD, Michael W. Smith, MD, MBA, CPT, is in charge of the medical team, which is responsible for upholding the accuracy and credibility of all WebMD health information.

He joined WebMD in 1999 and now oversees a team of staff physicians and medical reviewers across the U.S. responsible for creating content and assuring its continued medical accuracy and relevance to the WebMD audience.

Dr. Smith is a regular expert on national and local broadcast media, including regular appearances on Fox 5 News in New York to discuss the latest health headlines. Other appearances include Fox News, The Weather Channel, MSNBC, CBS’ The Early Show, and Katie Couric's web-based show @KatieCouric, among others. In addition, he has appeared in multiple publications, including Men's Health, Newsweek, Forbes, and Reader's Digest and was featured as the Internet's Top Doc in USA Weekend. He has also been interviewed by local and nationally syndicated radio stations, magazines, and newspapers across the country, speaking on everything from hangover remedies to navigating the internet for accurate, credible health information.

Dr. Smith serves as a member of the Nutrition Wellness Educator Certification Panel, established by the American Association of Family and Consumer Services. The panel is responsible for determining the competency scope of the Nutrition and Wellness Educator certification.

In 2013, Dr. Smith provided the keynote speech at the Institute of Food Technologists Wellness 2013 conference and was a featured presenter at the Digital Health Communication Extravaganza.

Dr. Smith also volunteers at the Good Samaritan Health Center in Atlanta, where he sees patients who do not have health insurance or are unable to pay for health care.

As a board-certified general internist, Dr. Smith's interest and knowledge span a wide array of medical topics. Autoimmune conditions are an area of personal interest to him, having developed ankylosing spondylitis in his college years. In 2014, he authored a book on his journey with this condition, Ankylosing Spondylitis Pyramid: The Lifestyle That Lets You Take Back Control. He is particularly interested in prevention and helping people live a healthy, active lifestyle. Dr. Smith is an American Council on Exercise certified personal trainer, with specialty certification in weight management, and is a certified health coach with Villanova University's MacDonald Center for Obesity Prevention and Education

Dr. Smith graduated from Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, Ga., in 1994, then did his internship in internal medicine at the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon. He finished his internal medicine residency -- his final year as chief resident -- at Georgia Baptist Medical Center in Atlanta. He became board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and then entered private practice as a primary care physician. In 2013, he earned a Master of Business Administration degree.

Dr. Smith is a member of the American College of Physicians and the HealthLeaders Media Council.

https://www.webmd.com/lung/features/12-ways-to-improve-indoor-air-quality#1