Indoor Air Quality Effects on Health

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) refers to the air quality in your home. It has a significant effect on the comfort and health of occupants. It’s crucial to control and understand various pollutants that may cause adverse health effects in your home.

Immediate Effects
Some health effects manifest soon after you are exposed to a specific pollutant. They include dizziness, fatigue, headaches and eye irritation. Often, such effects last for a short duration. Also, you can quickly treat them by moving away from an identifiable source. If you are exposed to indoor air contaminants, you may experience persistent asthma attacks.

Several factors such as age and preexisting health conditions determine the possibility of sudden reactions to air pollutants. Also, your sensitivity affects your response to contaminants. Different people have varying sensitivities. You can get sensitized to chemical or biological contaminants after getting high or frequent exposures.

However, some immediate effects resemble critical signs of viral diseases such as colds. It’s tricky to determine if they are due to exposure to air pollutants. Therefore, you need to focus on the location and time in which the symptoms occur. If they dissipate after you move away from a particular area, it’s vital to identify the precise indoor air pollution causes. Moreover, insufficient outdoor air supply may aggravate the health effects.

Long-Term Effects
At times, health effects of indoor air pollution may show up after several years since exposure occurred including cancer, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Often, they lead to fatalities. It’s wise to improve your home’s indoor air quality even if there aren’t any noticeable symptoms.

Common Signs of Bad Indoor Air Quality
1. Persistent allergies
There are different types of allergies. Most of them dissipate once you move away from an irritant. Nevertheless, if your allergy lasts for long, it’s a sign of indoor air pollution.

2. Home repairs
Recent home improvements such as wall painting or a floor replacement may contaminate your indoor air. It may cause chemicals to accumulate in the HVAC system and spread to the rest of the household. It’s advisable to clean your house after repairs thoroughly.

3. Inconsistent Air Distribution
Identifying inconsistencies in a building is easy. For example, one section may be colder than another. It affects a room’s temperature and air quality. Also, fluctuating humidity levels may indicate that you have bad indoor air quality. You may have to purchase a humidifier to get an appropriate humidity level.

Every home requires good indoor air quality. Integrity Heating & Cooling offers top-notch indoor air solutions in Charlotte. We have a team of skilled technicians who are ready to solve your air quality problem. Contact us today for a free consultation.