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Cleaning Your Indoor Air---5 Health Hazards To Eliminate

28 13:26:45
Since most of us spend 90% of our time indoors, it is critical that indoor air be kept as healthy as possible. Here are 5 health hazards to be aware of and to eliminate.

Dust---This is an accumulation of all sorts of things---fine bits of paper from paper products, minute pieces of lint from clothing and other textiles, pieces of webs and body parts from insects (who knew), and sometimes even tiny pieces of metal shavings that go airborne when opening and closing doors.

There is no hope of stopping dust from happening regardless of how clean you keep you home. Taking it out of the air as fast as it goes in will drastically reduce the amount you see on surfaces as well as the amount available for you and your family to breathe.

Dust Mites---Known as one of the most potent allergens there is, this is also a particulate that is found in every home. These invisible creatures are prolific in dark, warm, moist spaces and they feed on dead skin flakes. Dander is a food source for them regardless of who produces it.

They're favorite place in the home is your bedroom, and mores specifically your bed. And if your pet has a bed or special rug in your bedroom, it's double trouble for you particularly if you are allergic or asthmatic.

Pet Dander---With more and more people adopting pets, there are probably more home with pets than without. And if you're one of those with a warm-blooded pet such as (and the order of the list has no connection to which is best) a dog, cat, bird, ferret, bunny or other loveable fuzzy, you've got dander.

The protein in the dander from any one of these is one of the most potent allergens and can cause allergy and asthma flare ups. It is important to minimize the amount of dander in the air not only for humans but for the pets as well.

Bird Dust---With birds becoming ever more popular as pets, the important of minimizing the dust that they produced cannot be over exaggerated. There is certainly dander produced by any type of bird, but they are not equal when it comes to the dust they produce.

If you share your life and home with exotic parrots like African Greys Cockatoos, or Cockatiels, I don't have to tell you about the white dust they produce. It is doubly important to eliminate these particles because these particles are produced in addition to the dander and the other more normal household pollutants.

Spores----Mold, mildew, and pollen spores can be a problem year round. Pollen of course comes from the outside and depending on where you live it can start as early as January and continue until the first frost in late November or even early December.

You want to reduce mold and mildew spores before they find moisture under the sink, in the bathroom, or down in the basement. They produce even more spores once they find a water source and begin to grow. Depending on your sensitivity inhaling them can produce symptoms that range from mildly irritating to life-threatening.

Pollen, regardless of whether it is produced by trees, grass, or weeds can be an every present trigger for allergies and other respiratory problems. Eliminating them while they are airborne in your air is a proactive and effective way to keep indoor air healthy year round.