Reducing ventilation and sealing living spaces more tightly are ways to conserve energy - but they also trap irritants.

Particulate contamination, like dust and pollen, can make you sneeze, cough, irritate your eyes - you know the feeling. Disposable fiberglass filters are certainly inexpensive; but if clean air is important to you, disposable filters aren’t really acceptable, because they only remove large particles and not the tiny particles of dust, pollen, and smoke.

Did you know that the smoke and odor in the air are caused by particles and gases? When removed the air smells cleaner and fresher and so do your carpets, drapes, wall coverings and furniture.

Indoor air pollution has largely been ignored for years but is now being recognized as a serious problem in homes as well as commercial buildings. For one thing, more pollution is trapped indoors. Normal activities like cooking, heating and cleaning, release gases and particles, some of which are definitely unhealthy. Personal practices like smoking, add to the problem. These gases seem to linger in our “energy-tight” homes, sealed in as effectively as outdoor air is sealed out. One probable cause for this situation being ignored is a general lack of consumer awareness about the seriousness of indoor air pollution.

Reasonable estimates are that the visible particles that scatter a sunbeam’s light amount to 1 percent of all the particles in the air. That leaves another 99% too small to be seen with the naked or untrained eye. Only the effects of these invisible particles may be seen in human discomfort and in soiling film that slowly coats walls, furnishings and drapes. Dust, pollen, tobacco smoke, cooking smoke, animal dander, bacteria, viruses, skin flakes and carpet fibers are just some of the troublesome particles floating in indoor air. These particles are suspended in the air until they attach themselves to walls, furniture, drapes, etc. Scrubbing, dry cleaning, painting and redecorating are required to undo the damage they cause.

Worse yet are the effects dirty indoor air has on people. Pollen, spores and dust make life miserable for those with allergies. Lingering tobacco smoke makes some people acutely uncomfortable. Bacteria and viruses promote disease and these particles are carried through the air with the aid of dust. Formaldehyde is another potentially harmful gas which is generated from furniture, building materials, and insulation and can be found in almost any home. While air pollution affects everyone, there are studies that show our children are even more susceptible to the detrimental effects of air pollution particles than adults. A study was conducted using children from birth to approximately 20 years of age and showed that children breathe more air in proportion to body weight than adults, and that is because inhaled air hits the walls of a child lungs more quickly, so more pollution particles remain.

With all we have to offer our children today why not give them a cleaner healthier environment in which to develop? After all, it is their growth and development with which we must concern ourselves.