Ventilate the house is necessary, both in winter and in summer

Did you know that the air in your home can be much more polluted than a street with average vehicle traffic? We spent most of our time indoors, and good ventilation is essential to protect our health. The recommendation to ventilate the house is especially important in winter as the rest of the year because of climate; it is not unusual to spend much time outside or with the windows open.

Why you are contaminated air from home?

There are many factors of air pollution in our homes. The cigarette smoke is one of the most common and most dangerous elements but non-smokers do not escape the dangers. At home you can have allergens, chemical vapors (especially the cleaning, but also products such as a new paint), humidity (with bacteria and fungi), these from burning gas or wood, car emissions in the garage, or even pollutants from building materials ancient (though that is now becoming less common).

How to ventilate the house?

You basically have two options. The face is to have a ventilation system with filter that allows change the air and remove many of the harmful particles. The cheapest, most practical and most common is simply to open windows and an air stream. A few minutes a day is enough, especially in winter, because if you vent much, you end up getting too low temperature of the house, which then forces you to use more energy to raise it again, which usually involves producing new air pollutants.

The best time to ventilate the house in winter is the warmest time of day, especially if it’s sunny. Many places outside air temperature can be reasonably high at that time, so the heat loss will be less.

Learn to avoid contaminating your home

If you learn to value your health, you’ll appreciate the air you breathe every day, and that may help you take some simple steps to pollute less the air of your home, and so need less ventilation.

• Stop smoking … indoors. Well, you had better leave it entirely, but starting to respect your home air quality improvements and you protect other people who live with you or come to visit.
• Do not have the car running in the garage for a long time. Just enough to start and exit.
• Study the cleaning products you have at home and learn about their compositions. Like you can use less polluting and protect the air you breathe.
• Minimize the use of aerosols. Needless to empty half can of insecticide to kill a mosquito. Like no other cleaner for you to spend quiet evenings products.
• Beware of “mite havens” such as carpets or even mattresses and sofas. Clean them often to prevent dirt and allergens.
• Check any combustion plant operated with (fireplace, stove, gas heater, gas oven) and makes sure the ventilation is effective. In the rooms where these devices are, airs more carefully.
• If you live in an older home, you check if there are still hazardous materials (lead paint, asbestos), to remove them live more peacefully.