Clean Indoor Air – A key To Healthy Life
What do we think about quality of life and what does it mean to you? Education, job, enjoyment, free time, money, raising a family, priorities are many. I would like to focus on one key area can change all of these.
Our health is key to our quality of life and whilst some aspects are out of our control there are things we can do to improve them. This article is not about diet exercise or the amount we sleep. Instead it is about the basic living requirement, the air we breathe.
Countless studies have been made world wide about the amount of time we spend indoors. It is stated that we spend more than 90% of the time indoors and here in the Middle East region that means we spend 90% of the time in air-conditioned environments. Without air conditioning we would have a difficult and uncomfortable life. Imagine trying to sleep at night during the long hot summer or driving to work without AC in the car !
When it comes to health we do a lot of very basic things like washing our bodies, clothes, change our bedding, vacuum the carpets, wash the floors and on goes the list of good hygiene. Imagine if you never cleaned the carpet or floor or changed the bed linen. Yes you are right, it is unthinkable. But how often is your A/C system cleaned? Your A/C system unless you have a wall mounted split or window units will have ducts that bring you cool air into your home or office. Most residential properties and many commercial building rely on re-circulating the air from within the building and send it back through the filter and cool it further and come back into the building.
Many people wrongly believe that the filter will clean the air from all the air borne pollutants like dust etc. But dust, sand, cat & dog dander, dried skin from our bodies, carpets and fabric fibres, dead insect parts, faecal pellets from dust mites, cockroaches as well as mould spores, bacteria and possibly tobacco smoke becomes air borne. The filters do not stop this dust, it simply gets blown into the ducts much of it is left to accumulate and become the food source for mould.
Mould spore is a major trigger for ASTHMA and other respiratory illnesses. When go into some homes or building you can simply smell the mould odours and many people become very sensitive and suffer from blocked or stuffy noses, watery or itchy eyes and persistent cough. Others who are prone to asthma may be seriously affected especially children and the elderly.
We can check the indoor air quality by carrying out a thorough survey. The survey should include not only A/C system inspection but also carpet, mould and bacteria assessment using a wide range of instruments. Assessment had to be first carried out which involves a full inspection of the property and includes the A/C system, carpets, upholstery, odour detection, temperatures, Relative humidity, carbon dioxide, airborne dust particles, and basic findings. Only professionals with the right equipment and knowledge should carry out cleaning and remediation of the problem areas.
Doing all these exercise of regular cleaning of A/C systems, carpets, floors and mattresses may cause little additional expense. But think about the health effects pollutants can cause ..you may be able to prevent an illness before it starts.
