Indoor Air Pollution: Is the Air in Your Home Killing you?
What's better than taking a deep breath of clean mountain crisp air? For me being up and away in the mountains is soothing to my soul and my body. Today I want to talk about something that affects every single person in today's world: Indoor air pollution.
Let's go over some horrifying stats about indoor air pollution to help you understand the severity of this issue.
- More than 6.5 million people are dying prematurely every year as a result of air pollution.
- With each breath, we inhale 45-75,000 particles of pollution.
- The average person spends 90% of their time indoors breathing this polluted air. Yes, in the workplace, schools, and homes.
- Air pollution is linked to cardiovascular disease, asthma, and other pulmonary diseases, cancer, fertility problems, allergies, stroke, Alzheimer's disease.
I am passionate about the air quality because I see patients who can't breathe day in and day out. For those of you who have chronic health disease, it is even more important to support a healthy body and immune system with clean air.
Nasal Congestion and Sneezing in the House are Not Normal
Nasal congestion and sneezing is a typical thing around my house for my husband, Blake. He has had allergy symptoms for most of his life. His typical treatment is a daily allergy medication such as Claritin or Zyrtec. And if he forgets to take it, he will suffer throughout the day. Thankfully myself or my family never really deal with allergies but watching Blake makes me very thankful for that. Some days he is miserable.
As I began learning more about supporting a strong immune system and hidden toxins in our everyday lives, I began to learn more and more about indoor air pollution. And not just for those who suffer from pesky allergies or asthma. But for our sweet toddlers that are rolling around on the carpets and running around the house with their superhero capes, to the family and friends that come to stay in your home.
As we breathe in these toxins day in and day out our bodies, begin to be taxed, and it can't keep up. We begin to see dysfunction, damage, and inflammation, which can lead to a number of diseases.
What Pollutants are Circulating in Your Home?
Particles include the larger ones you can see floating in the air to dangerous ultrafine particles we can't see. They include
- dust mites
- pet dander
- dust mite feces
- pollen
- mold
- and dust.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Volatile organic compounds or VOCs are gaseous air contaminants that originate from household products such as
- Furniture
- Carpets
- Flame retardant clothing (infant pajamas)
- Cleaners
- Air fresheners
- Nail polish
- Paints (yes the ones that cover every surface of your walls), and solvents.
Microorganisms
These are living creatures that bring illness. These include fungus, viruses, and bacteria.
So now that I have scared you to death, sorry to be frank. . . Let's talk about how we can get clean purified and safe air within your home, workplace or schools.
How To Improve Your Indoor Air Quality
After hours and hours of research and reading, it was very evident that Intellipure is the best on the market. The Ultrafine 468 Air Purifier neutralizes particles, VOCs, and microorganisms. It is the only cleaner that will remove 99% of the ultra-fine particles.
Why HEPA Filters are Not Enough
Many people, even providers, recommend HEPA filters, but these do not remove the ultra-fine particles and can actually grow and re-circulate mold and other microorganisms into the air. This is not what we want. Research has shown that the Intellipure internal fibers significantly reduce the survival rate of bacteria once it is captured.
The Intellipure removes particles down to 0.007 microns in size whereas a HEPA filter only captures particles down to 0.3 microns.
Testing the Intellipure
After doing all of this researching, we wanted to put it to the test. We have used Intellipure now for five months. It has run day in and day out in our home. We have it in the living room during the day and rotate it in our rooms at night since we have a basement.
When the air purifier arrived, I had 5.5 weeks of nasal congestion and a lingering sinus infection. I was days away from starting an antibiotic because it would not clear. I also had ongoing mild congestion that has never gone away after having my kids.
You fellow moms out there know about the lovely pregnancy congestion. I was beginning to think I was stuck with it for life. Blake was still using allergy meds almost daily, and Teagan had a very obnoxious throat-clearing that he did almost every meal with each bite due to postnasal drip (stuff dripping down his throat).
All Our Symptoms are Gone!
So we powered it up and waited. After about 2-3 weeks, we started to notice big improvements. All of our symptoms were gone! No joke! My father in law was no longer asking if I was sick again when we spoke on the phone because my voice had sounded like I was in the nasal decongestant commercial. Remember the medicine head one? But it was gone!
As I mentioned, we had the Purifier running all the time except for a three day period when it started to make a noise. I didn't want to cause problems, so we powered it off and waited until Monday rolled around and I was able to call customer service. They knew right away what the problem was, and with a quick clean of the VOC predicted we were back in business. But the very interesting thing was in that time frame Blake, and I noticed our nasal congestion creeping back in. Just in a few days.
Let's just say we are blown away by the Ultrafine 468 Intellipure air purifier!
And I can truthfully say as a provider, mom, wife and nasal congestion sufferer we will never live without one in the future. If you and your family suffer from allergies, asthma, chronic disease, or want to take steps to prevent health problems, one important step is to support a healthy home with purified air.
Make sure to stay tuned for part 2 where I go in-depth about comparisons of other air purifiers such as The Molekule. I spent hours trying to figure out which one was superior and have the details that I want to share with you.
Blog written by Third River Health
