Indoor Air Quality


Most people spend most of their time indoors, and most of that indoor time is spent inside the home.

The quality of the air you breathe in your home—the indoor air quality (IAQ)—can have a significant impact on the comfort, health and well-being of you and your family.

Most people recognize that outdoor air may be polluted by any number of substances—automotive exhausts, power plants, industrial smoke, pollen, etc.—but fewer recognize that the air in their homes may contains many times the volume of pollutants than outside air.

Fresh breezes and the sheer volume of air in the atmosphere give many pollutants the opportunity to dissipate. In contrast, the air in your home may be relatively still. Instead of pollutants dissipating, as they do outdoors, pollutants inside the home are more likely to be concentrated.		 The air inside our homes can contain a wide variety of pollutants from many household sources, all of which can pose a health hazard. Some, like smoke, dust and pollen, you can see. Others, like carbon monoxide or radon, you can't. Among the most common pollutants:
  • Dust
  • Pet dander
  • Pollen Pesticides
  • Radon
  • Volatile organic compounds (VOC's) from paint and chemicals
  • Formaldehyde from building materials, cabinets and furnishings
  • Lead
  • Carbon monoxide from stoves, fireplaces, heaters and chimneys
  • Second-hand tobacco smoke
  • Germs and mold

You may have others pollutants in your home. Asbestos can be present in older homes and rodents or vermin can be a source of pollutants, for example. The potential health hazards from these and other pollutants are particularly acute for young children and those suffering from asthma, allergies and other breathing-related conditions.

Several factors affect IAQ. Where you live, your lifestyle and activities, the contents of your home and the way it is built. Not the least of these is your central heating system. Hydronic (water-based, hot water or steam) heating systems are inherently cleaner than air-based central heating and therefore far less likely to contribute to any IAQ problems in the home.
 		 Hydronic central heating systems heat your home by circulating hot water or steam through a closed loop of piping to free-standing radiators or convectors. These, in turn warm the rooms of the home by radiant heat. The only thing exchanged between your hydronic heating system and the air inside your home is heat energy. So you may have poor IAQ in your home, but a hydronic heating systems won't be a contributing factor, as an air-based system can.

Air-based (forced air) heating and cooling systems, on the other hand, spread germs, pollen and other pollutants throughout the house as heated or cooled air moves through ducts into all rooms of the house. In addition, mold can grow in air ducts and/or ducts can become contaminated with excessive amounts of dust and/or become infested with vermin when not maintained properly. Whether or not to have air ducts cleaned is an open question. The U.S. EPA doesn't make any blanket recommendation. Instead, it suggests homeowners make the decision based on specific conditions, as detailed on the EPA website.

Whatever the circumstance or type of system you have, however, preventive maintenance is always recommended.