Most of us have experienced the nasty brown cloud that encompasses many modern cities. Driving to work in the morning, coffee in hand, we come over the ridge crest to view the city below, and there it is, sprawling before us, an expansive balloon of toxins and chemicals that permeates the air we breathe.

Although the brown cloud makes us viscerally aware of the quality of outdoor air, many of us don’t realize that the air inside our homes is often as toxic, or even more so, than the air hovering over our cities.

Believe it or not, indoor air quality has become so degraded that the Environmental Protection Agency claims that in many U.S. homes, the indoor air is actually more polluted than the outside air. Studies show that most Americans spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors, making the health risks of indoor air pollution particularly poignant. The EPA has directly linked poor indoor air quality to health ailments such as asthma, ADD in children, headaches, blurred vision, fatigue, and even heart attacks and cancer.

Three main factors contribute to poor indoor air quality: bad material selection during the construction process and within the home, inadequate ventilation, and a lack of filtration. Understanding and addressing these causes of pollution can make it easier to find appropriate solutions for improving the air quality in our homes.

 

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