Indoor Air Quality - Frequently Asked Questions
- What Causes Indoor Air Problems?
- What is our shipping charge?
- How soon will my order ship?
- What are the sources of these pollutants?
- How much ventilation is needed?
- How do I get outside air in my home?
- What are the health risks of indoor air pollution?
- What can I do about Indoor Air Pollution?
- What is your return/satisfaction guarantee policy?
- What if I have additional questions or need more info?
Back to the Indoor Air Quality Products Page
1. What Causes Indoor
Air Problems?
Indoor
pollution sources that release gases or particles into the air are the
primary cause of indoor air quality problems in homes. Inadequate ventilation
can increase indoor pollutant levels by not bringing in enough outdoor
air to dilute emissions from indoor sources and by not carrying indoor
air pollutants out of the home. High temperature and humidity levels can
also increase concentrations of some pollutants.
2. What is our shipping
charge?
Freight Charges and Policies
3. How soon will my
order ship?
All orders received by 3:00 EST will ship that same day via ground UPS.
Order placed after 3:00 EST weekdays and on Sat. or Sun. will ship the
following business day.
4. What are the sources
of these pollutants?
There are many sources
of indoor air pollution in any home. These include combustion sources
such as oil, gas, kerosene, coal, wood, and tobacco products; building
materials and furnishings as diverse as deteriorated, asbestos-containing
insulation, wet or damp carpet, and cabinetry or furniture made of certain
pressed wood products; products for household cleaning and maintenance,
personal care, or hobbies; central heating and cooling systems and humidification
devices; and outdoor sources such as radon, pesticides, and outdoor air
pollution.
The relative importance of any single source depends on how much of a
given pollutant it emits and how hazardous those emissions are. In some
cases, factors such as how old the source is and whether it is properly
maintained are significant. For example, an improperly adjusted gas stove
can emit significantly more carbon monoxide than one that is properly
adjusted.
Some sources, such as building materials, furnishings, and household products
like air fresheners, release pollutants more or less continuously. Other
sources, related to activities carried out in the home, release pollutants
intermittently. These include smoking, the use of unvented or malfunctioning
stoves, furnaces, or space heaters, the use of solvents in cleaning and
hobby activities, the use of paint strippers in redecorating activities,
and the use of cleaning products and pesticides in house-keeping. High
pollutant concentrations can remain in the air for long periods after
some of these activities.
5. How much ventilation
is needed?
If too little outdoor
air enters a home, pollutants can accumulate to levels that can pose health
and comfort problems. Unless they are built with special mechanical means
of ventilation, homes that are designed and constructed to minimize the
amount of outdoor air that can "leak" into and out of the home
may have higher pollutant levels than other homes. However, because some
weather conditions can drastically reduce the amount of outdoor air that
enters a home, pollutants can build up even in homes that are normally
considered "leaky".
6. How do I get outside
air in my home?
Outdoor air enters
and leaves a house by: infiltration, natural ventilation, and mechanical
ventilation. In a process known as infiltration, outdoor air flows into
the house through openings, joints, and cracks in walls, floors, and
ceilings,
and around windows and doors. In natural ventilation, air moves through
opened windows and doors. Air movement associated with infiltration
and
natural ventilation is caused by air temperature differences between
indoors and outdoors and by wind. Finally, there are a number of mechanical
ventilation
devices, from outdoor-vented fans that intermittently remove air from
a single room, such as bathrooms and kitchen, to air handling systems
that use fans and duct work to continuously remove indoor air and distribute
filtered and conditioned outdoor air to strategic points throughout
the
house. The rate at which outdoor air replaces indoor air is described
as the air exchange rate. When there is little infiltration, natural
ventilation,
or mechanical ventilation, the air exchange rate is low and pollutant
levels can increase. We sell Fantech HRVs and ERVs to
bring fresh air inside and conserve the energy.
7. What are the health
risks of indoor air pollution?
Short term effects
Immediate effects
may show up after a single exposure or repeated exposures. These include
irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, dizziness, and fatigue.
Such immediate effects are usually short-term and treatable. Sometimes
the treatment is simply eliminating the person's exposure to the source
of the pollution, if it can be identified. Symptoms of some diseases,
including asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and humidifier fever,
may also show up soon after exposure to some indoor air pollutants.
The likelihood of immediate reactions to indoor air pollutants depends
on several factors. Age and preexisting medical conditions are two important
influences. In other cases, whether a person reacts to a pollutant depends
on individual sensitivity, which varies tremendously from person to person.
Some people can become sensitized to biological and chemical pollutants after repeated
exposures.
Certain immediate effects are similar to those from colds or other viral
diseases, so it is often difficult to determine if the symptoms are a
result of exposure to indoor air pollution. For this reason, it is important
to pay attention to the time and place symptoms occur. If the symptoms
fade or go away when a person is away from home, for example, an effort
should be made to identify indoor air sources that may be possible causes.
Some effects may be made worse by an inadequate supply of outdoor air
or from the heating, cooling, or humidity conditions prevalent in the
home.
Long Term Effects
Other health effects may show up either years after exposure has occurred
or only after long or repeated periods of exposure. These effects, which
include some respiratory diseases, heart disease, and cancer, can be severely
debilitating or fatal. It is prudent to try to improve the indoor air
quality in your home even if symptoms are not noticeable.
While pollutants commonly found in indoor air are responsible for many
harmful effects, there is considerable uncertainty about what concentrations
or periods of exposure are necessary to produce specific health problems.
People also react very differently to exposure to indoor air pollutants.
Further research is needed to better understand which health effects occur
after exposure to the average pollutant concentrations found in homes
and which occurs from the higher concentrations that occur for short periods
of time.
8. What can I do about
Indoor Air Pollution?
Three Basic Strategies
Source Control
Usually the most
effective way to improve indoor air quality is to eliminate individual
sources of pollution or to reduce their emissions. Some sources, like
those that contain asbestos, can be sealed or enclosed; others, like gas
stoves, can be adjusted to decrease the amount of emissions. In many cases,
source control is also a more cost-efficient approach to protecting indoor
air quality than increasing ventilation because increasing ventilation
can increase energy costs. Specific sources of indoor air pollution in
your home are listed later in this section.
Ventilation Improvements
Another approach to lowering the concentrations of indoor air pollutants
in your home is to increase the amount of outdoor air coming indoors.
Most home heating and cooling systems, including forced air heating systems,
do not mechanically bring fresh air into the house. Opening windows and
doors, operating window or attic fans, when the weather permits, or running
a window air conditioner with the vent control open increases the outdoor
ventilation rate. Local bathroom or kitchen fans that exhaust outdoors
remove contaminants directly from the room where the fan is located and
also increase the outdoor air ventilation rate.
It is particularly important to take as many of these steps as possible
while you are involved in short-term activities that can generate high
levels of pollutants--for example, painting, paint stripping, heating
with kerosene heaters, cooking, or engaging in maintenance and hobby activities
such as welding, soldering, or sanding. You might also choose to do some
of these activities outdoors, if you can and if weather permits.
Advanced designs of new homes are starting to feature mechanical systems
that bring outdoor air into the home. Some of these designs include energy-efficient
heat recovery ventilators (also known as air-to-air heat exchangers).
Air Cleaners
There are many types and sizes of air cleaners on the market, ranging
from relatively inexpensive table-top models to sophisticated and expensive
whole-house systems. Some air cleaners are highly effective at particle
removal, while others, including most table-top models, are much less
so. Air cleaners are generally not designed to remove gaseous pollutants.
The effectiveness of an air cleaner depends on how well it collects pollutants
from indoor air (expressed as a percentage efficiency rate) and how much
air it draws through the cleaning or filtering element (expressed in cubic
feet per minute). A very efficient collector with a low air-circulation
rate will not be effective, nor will a cleaner with a high air-circulation
rate but a less efficient collector. The long-term performance of any
air cleaner depends on maintaining it according to the manufacturer's
directions.
Another important factor in determining the effectiveness of an air cleaner
is the strength of the pollutant source. Table-top air cleaners, in particular,
may not remove satisfactory amounts of pollutants from strong nearby sources.
People with a sensitivity to particular sources may find that air cleaners
are helpful only in conjunction with concerted efforts to remove the source.
Over the past few years, there has been some publicity suggesting that
houseplants have been shown to reduce levels of some chemicals in laboratory
experiments. There is currently no evidence, however, that a reasonable
number of houseplants remove significant quantities of pollutants in homes
and offices. Indoor houseplants should not be over-watered because overly
damp soil may promote the growth of microorganisms which can affect allergic
individuals.
9. What is your return/satisfaction
guarantee policy?
We guarantee your complete satisfaction with every order! We have been
in business since 1959 and would love to prove our commitment to you.
If for any reason you are not satisfied with the product you receive,
just send it back and get a refund.
10. What if I have
additional questions or need more info?
Should you have any questions or require additional info please contact
us 1-800-972-5391.
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