Homebuyer Be Aware - Healthy Indoor Air
Posted on June 29th, 2009 - 3:00 PMMy family and I just sold our first house. If you’ve ever been through this, you know how many details are involved in sprucing up a home to put on the market – painting, landscaping, cleaning, and on and on. Just like the roof, the furnace and the plumbing – healthy indoor air requires maintenance, and maybe even some elbow grease.
Working at EPA means I’m pretty up to speed on the importance of healthy air. Being a dad, the message is clear to me. When my younger daughter showed signs of developing asthma, in addition to following the pediatrician’s orders, we took extra effort to keep the house in tiptop shape. Since we bought a fixer-upper there was plenty to do. The basics for maintaining clean indoor air go like this – eliminate or remove pollutants, ventilate with fresh air, control moisture, test for radon, and regularly service appliances like heating and air conditioning, and cooking appliances. For more tips than I have room for, check out http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/careforyourair.html.
Selling and buying a home has made me realize that taking steps to protect indoor air quality actually added value to our sale and helped us spot value when we were looking for a new home. Certainly folks can take a “do-it-yourself” approach like my family did by following EPA’s tips. But wouldn’t it be nice if “indoor air quality” were built in? The good news is EPA has launched a program called Indoor airPLUS. To earn the Indoor airPLUS label, a new home must include a comprehensive set of indoor air quality requirements and a third-party verifies it.
As a dad, having good indoor air means living healthy as well as having peace of mind.
About the author: John Millet started at EPA in 2002 and is the Director of Communications for the Office of Air and Radiation covering climate change, emissions, and acid rain. He is the proud dad of two girls and a new home.
Tags: Indoor airPLUS
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Question of the Week
June 29th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Having good clean air is critical
[Reply]
July 1st, 2009 at 1:29 pm
The freshest air comes from trees. I leave my window open whenever possible and sleep just under it. That way my body can repair itself using as much oxygen as it needs — except nowadays the growing population is producing more pollution that puts out more carbon dioxide and methane, so fresh air is becoming an endangered species. Soon they’ll be selling oxygen in supermarkets along with distilled water.
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July 1st, 2009 at 4:56 pm
I thought that this article was Right on!!!
It is without a doubt that the air quality inside of your home is loaded with all kinds of toxins, microbial particules, Molds, Radon gas, Lead poison, Asbestos particules, and on and on. What to do?
Have your home tested by a qualified, insured, and certified air quality inspector. This way, he or she can provide you with the a report that will reccommend a specific type of air scrubbing system needed to clean the air in your home or office.
[Reply]
July 3rd, 2009 at 9:05 am
Hi!
Indoor air quality is really an important determinant of population health and wellbeing. Exposure to the hazardous airborne agents present in many indoor spaces causes adverse effects such as respiratory disease, allergy and irritation of the respiratory tract. To a large extent, the inadequate quality of indoor air arises from a poor articulation, appreciation and understanding of the basic principles underlying the policies and actions related to indoor air quality.
With Regards
Amrita
http://www.quality-web-programming.com
[Reply]
July 13th, 2009 at 9:14 am
It is advisable to get one of those air cleaners to get the indoor air quality as pure as possible
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