Proper ventilation in homes can help prevent a lot of sicknesses and diseases while also eliminating a significant number of deaths.
Data from Global Health Risks from the WHO has revealed that “mortality and burden of disease attributable to selected major risks indoor air pollution is responsible for 2.7% of the global burden of disease.”
Also, here are some interesting data highlights on how dangerous indoor air pollution is, which can often be aggravated by lack of proper ventilation:
- Quality of indoor air is often two to five times, sometimes up to hundred times, more polluted than the worst outdoor air
- Indoor air pollution is ranked among the top five environmental dangers
- 87 percent of Americans are not aware that pollution may be worse inside their home than outdoors
- There’s been an alarming increase in severe allergies, asthma and lung diseases that are being linked to poor indoor air quality.
- Millions of people die prematurely from illness that can be attributed to indoor air pollution
You can find more about the dangers of indoor air pollution on the United States Environmental Protection Agency website as well as on the World Health Organization website.
Also, one of the top ways recommended to improve indoor air quality is proper ventilation and this article will be sharing 7 tips for doing that:
1. Open Your Windows on Cool Days
Depending on where you live, there’s every probability you have to keep your windows regularly closed to avoid dust, noise, or for other reasons.
However, opening your windows regularly on cool days can help increase home ventilation; for example, you could experiment with opening up your windows every morning and evening when the weather is pleasant.
Make sure you approach this with caution; try to observe the air outside before opening your windows. If the air is great outside, then it might help to have your windows opened for a few minutes, once or twice daily, but if the air quality outside is bad then you should avoid opening your windows.
2. Close Your Windows on Hot Days
Contrary to what most people expect, opening your windows on hot days will actually increase the warmth of your home instead of making it cool.
Instead, ensure your windows are closed on hot days to prevent more heat from coming inside. Depending on how cool the weather is at night, you might want to occasionally open your windows at night of the summer period to allow some cool air to come in but make sure your windows are closed for the most part of the day.
3. Get Organic Plants for Your Home
You can also improve indoor air quality by having organic indoor plants in your home to absorb energy from the sun while filtering toxins and adding moisture to your home.
For example, you can get the Aloe Vera plant that is known to reduce toxic emissions. You can also plant the weeping fig tree, spider plants, lilies and other indoor plants that can help improve the indoor air quality of your home.
4. Install an Air-to-Air Heat Exchanger in Your Home
Air exchangers can help you replace stale indoor air with an equal amount of fresh outdoor air.
Air exchangers can also reduce excess humidity, reduce dangerous fumes and gases and also remove dust from your home.
5. Install Attic Insulation
Statistics have shown that 85% of a house’s heat loss is through the attic.
The attic is usually the hottest part of most homes in the summer period and without proper insulation, the heat from the attic will be transferred into other parts of your home.
Heat loss can also occur through the attic during the winter period, making your home a lot colder; by installing attic insulation and optimizing your insulation levels for your home, you can reduce the rate of heat transfer and improve the energy efficiency of your home.
This post is contributed by Karl, a writer for Harrisons Home Energy.