Signs and Symptoms of Bad Indoor Air Quality

Indoor air quality is a bigger deal than the average homeowner realizes. Bad indoor air quality can rob you and your family of your good health and so much more. The problem is, most people don’t even realize their home is suffering from bad indoor air quality until the symptoms have become quite severe.

What Causes Poor Indoor Air Quality?
There are quite a few things that contribute to poor air quality inside your home. One of the biggest contributing factors for homes and businesses today involves poor circulation and ventilation of air. Other problems originate as a result of contaminants introduced into the air by a variety of ordinary household and office products, including:

Cleaning products
Paints
Stains
Furniture
Adhesives
Building materials
Pollen
Dust
Mold

Even insufficient intake of outdoor air into the home can cause indoor air quality to suffer. It’s one of the reasons so many households spend time airing their homes out in the spring.

Symptoms of Bad Indoor Air Quality
Not everyone will experience the same symptoms of bad indoor air quality. The symptoms vary according to specific contaminants within the home and individual tolerances to different chemicals, compounds, and materials. Some of the more common, short-term symptoms include:

Dry, irritated eyes, nose, or throat
Dry, irritated skin
Headaches
Fatigue
Dizziness/Vertigo
Nausea
Sinus congestion
Allergy symptoms
Shortness of breath
Asthma symptoms

Bad indoor air quality can also trigger severe asthma attacks among those who live with the condition.

Long-term exposure to bad indoor air quality can have a cumulatively negative effect on your health manifesting as respiratory disease, heart disease, or cancer in some people. It can be debilitating and, in some cases, fatal. That is why improving indoor air quality needs to be a goal for all homeowners.

Improving Indoor Air Quality
There are many things you can do to help improve the quality of air inside your home. Some options include eliminating carpet from your home, purchasing furniture and flooring made with green practices, and using only low or no-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints in your home.

One thing you can do that will have a huge impact on indoor air quality is to install and use a whole house fan. Not only does this expel contaminated air through vents in your roof, it also draws fresh air from the outside into the home through open windows on your lower level floors to create a massively favorable impact on the quality of air inside your home.

If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of a whole house fan for your home or need help selecting your new whole house fan, give us a call at 1.888.229.5757.