Staying healthy is key for baby boomers and seniors.
While many of us do all the obvious things to stay healthy – exercising, eating right, taking vitamins, getting an annual physical, etc. – how many of us consider the air in your home or office?
Poor air quality is a major cause for illness among boomers and seniors and can literally make you sick.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the air inside our homes is one to five times more polluted than the air outdoors. The average American spends 90 percent of their time indoors in homes or offices and as we age, indoor-air quality becomes more and more important, especially for baby boomers and seniors.
In an effort to conserve energy and lower costs, more homes today are better insulated and feature windows that do not allow outside air into the house. This has created energy efficient “tight homes,” but has also produced a health risk – poor indoor air quality.
Because tighter, better insulated homes were built in response to the energy crisis in the 1970’s, natural ventilation has been eliminated and many airborne contaminants are trapped in homes, according to the American Lung Association’s Health House Project, which offers these health tips:
- Prohibit smoking in the home.
- Never store more than a few pieces of firewood indoors. It could generate mold.
- Store recycling items (newspapers, rags, cans, bottles) outdoors to avoid their toxic vapors.
- Monitor in-home humidity levels which can encourage mold growth.
- Replace air conditioner and furnace filters every 2-3 months.
- Combat indoor dust with a Filtrate vacuum filter bag in your vacuum cleaner.
- Install a carbon monoxide monitor and check it regularly.
- Never cook indoors with charcoal.
- Test your home for radon.
Poor indoor air can result from furniture, carpeting, paint, everyday chemical home cleaning products, radon gas, etc. All create a poor indoor air quality breeding ground resulting in mold, dust, odors, bacteria and airborne viruses which can cause illness. And if you, your children or grandchildren have allergies or asthma, these conditions can make them feel even worse.
Perhaps the easiest and simplest fix, is investing in a Green, clean indoor air quality device.
These devices, stand-alone or installed in a heating or air conditioning system, eliminate mold, dust, and odors; control bacteria and the spread of airborne viruses; and reduce airborne particles and germs that bypass normal ventilation and filtration systems.
These devices actually replicate fresh mountaintop air indoors in a home (or in an office) and keep boomers and seniors healthy. Those with allergies or asthma breathe easier. Sleeping is often a major problem for boomers and seniors, but these devices, by cleaning indoor air in a home, provides a more restful and solid sleep. Those who install the air purification devices breathe easier and notice an elimination of dust particles, mold, odors, mildew and bacteria in the home.
For those boomers who still work, the average office or commercial space can also be a breeding ground for mold, dust, odors, bacteria and airborne viruses due to poor air filtration and ventilation systems. This leads to less productivity and absenteeism due to illness and the flu. So the quality of indoor air can be a huge factor in preventing illness.
And for boomers and seniors who have a parent, spouse or family member in a health care facility, poor indoor air is a major source of concern. Nursing homes and independent living facilities can be filled with all kinds of contaminants that can trigger illness, or worse, life threatening infections.
The bottom line: while striving to live healthier, boomers and seniors need to consider the air quality in a home and what can be done to clean it up, to live an improved and happier life.
Steve Levine is the President and CEO of AtmosAir Solutions in Fairfield, CT. For more information, visit www.atmosair.com.
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