You may blame your sickliness on a virus you got from a coworker, however the culprit could actually be your own dwelling.
- If your symptoms are related to being in parts of your dwelling, magically resolve themselves after you leave your dwelling for a while, or if other people in your dwelling experience the same symptoms as you, you may have what the EPA refers to as “sick building syndrome”.
Three things that contribute to sick building syndrome are terrible air ventilation, chemical pollutants, and biological contaminants growing in your home… Ventilation refers to the exchange of indoor and outdoor air. Poor ventilation allows harmful gases and excessive moisture to build up in your dwelling, but certain carpets, paints, solvents, wood based furniture, and air fresheners can easily emit volatile organic compounds. Their harmful effects include eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches, loss of coordination, nausea, and damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system as well. If your dwelling happens to be poorly ventilated, you are definitely more likely to be affected by VOC’s since they are not ventilated out of your property. According to the EPA, contaminants such as mold, pollen, and viruses could possibly breed in stagnant water that has accumulated in ducts, humidifiers, and drain pans, or where water has collected on ceiling tiles, carpeting, or insulation. There are times when mold grows in your property because the humidity level in your property is definitely too high. Properly ventilating your property totally can help with this. To solve sick building syndrome, remove sources of pollution, increase ventilation rates and air distribution, and get an air purification appliance! Removing the sources of pollution includes officially replacing your air filters and limiting the use of paints, adhesives, solvents, and pesticides to well ventilated areas… You can increase ventilation rates and air distribution by simply opening up a window, turning on your home office or washroom exhaust fans, and maintaining oil furnaces, chimneys, and gas water heating appliances so that carbon monoxide is ventilated out the dwelling. Your official fiberglass air filter only catches greater sized dust particles. You will need an air purification appliance with a high MERV rating to catch the tiny particles that can hurt your indoor air quality.