Do you consider the indoor air quality (IAQ) of your working space, living space, or another enclosed space? Indoor air quality (IAQ) is often under recognized. This is an issue for human and animal health. Poor IAQ comes with several negative symptoms, ranging from coughing and wheezing to congestion and headaches. According to the EPA, long term health effects resulting from poor indoor air quality include, “respiratory diseases, heart disease, and cancer.” For this month’s blog, we will be diving further into indoor air quality, its effects, and different ways to fix the issue. Hint: Activa is the paint for healthy indoor air quality.
What is Indoor Air Quality?
While the definition seems pretty obvious, the EPA defines IAQ as, “the air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants.” Most people instantly think of the comfort aspect of indoor air. They consider desired temperature, humidity level, and even scent. All of these are important for productivity and morale, but the negative side effects of poor IAQ can have a greater, negative influence on your overall health. Let’s take a look at some of the factors that contribute to poor indoor air quality.
There are many factors that can contribute to your poor IAQ. Many of these include the concentration of harmful gasses and particles. Ventilation is an important factor in healthy indoor air quality. When there is a lack of ventilation, it allows dangerous gases to buildup. There are several pollution sources caused by humans as well. Some of these include fuel burning appliances, heating/cooling devices, smoking tobacco, cleaning chemicals, and new building materials. Being able to recognize what causes poor IAQ will be your first step to protecting yourself and those you influence.
Negative Health Effects
To help break down the negative health effects of poor indoor air quality, we separated them into short and long term health effects.
Short-Term Health Effects:
- Irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat (congestion)
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
Many of these symptoms can arise after just one exposure to poor IAQ. The best way to help combat these immediate side effects is to remove the individuals from the area, vent out the space, and identify and remove any persistent causes (like those listed above).
Long-Term Health Effects:
- Respiratory disease
- Heart disease
- Cancer
These often-fatal health effects can sometimes go unnoticed until it’s too late. This is why it is extremely important to battle poor IAQ even when short term symptoms aren’t present.
Solutions for Healthy Indoor Air
Improving your indoor air quality is much easier than you might think. One of the simplest ways you can improve your space is by making sure it is well ventilated. This can be either a well-functioning A/C or heating unit that can effectively provide you with clean air or having a way for outdoor air to get inside (like opening your windows). Cleaning tasks, such as dusting, vacuuming, and disinfecting, also have a great impact on your IAQ. Lastly, one of the best ways to continuously battle poor indoor air quality is with our self-cleaning paint. Our paint has self-cleaning properties, through the process of photocatalysis, when exposed to natural or artificial light. Our paint for healthy indoor air quality helps clean your air. With Activa Coating, you can battle poor indoor air quality without any effort!
Don’t forget about the indoor air quality in the closed spaces you frequent most! This is not only an issue of your comfort; more importantly, it’s an issue of your health overall. With a variety of short- and long-term health effects, it’s important to recognize and act on poor IAQ before it’s too late. One of the quickest and easiest ways to start this process is with our self-cleaning paint, Activa Coating. Check out our products page for more information on all our self-cleaning paint products!
