“Hear no evil, see no evil,” the saying goes, but your body
feels the damaging effects of tiny particles that penetrate deep into your
lungs. Ultrafine particulate matter are comprised
of tiny microscopic airborne particles containing biological and inorganic
matter such as pollen, dander, mold, and minerals. These particles are so
pervasive that they can enter] the blood stream and cause a wide variety of
illnesses. As a rule, If you can see the
dust particle in the air, there is a good chance your lungs can filter it. For
a point of reference the width of a human hair is about 100 microns; damaging
particles are significantly smaller: 5.0 and 10.0 . It is these invisible
particles that contribute to persistent coughing, watery eyes, and chronic
illness such as asthma. In order to prevent this, there are simple steps you
can take to reduce the amount of ultrafine particulate you breathe:
Step 1: Replace any
carpeting with hard wood floors. Your carpeting traps ultrafine
particulates. The same principle goes
for area rugs. Infants and toddlers are most prone to the ill effects of these
lung-damaging particles, as the crib or bed is often much lower to the floor.
The particulate levels at carpet level can be up to 100 times higher than at
regular breathing height. If you cannot afford to replace the carpeting, schedule
professional carpet cleaning using an experienced technician.
Step 2: Invest in a
quality vacuum. Most vacuums show a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) label and actually
perform as advertised on the box. The problem becomes when the HEPA filter
fails in a few months or year as it gets coated and clogged. The motor still
runs, forcing the ultrafine particulates through loose vacuum seals into the
air. Let’s put the “P” back into HEPA by maintaining your HEPA filter with
regular cleaning or replacing. Look for a true HEPA filter that passes higher
standards of emission certification.
Step 3: Encourage Air
Flow. How? Simple. Open the windows. If it’s cold or hot outside and you
are running a heating or cooling system, add a heat or energy recovery
ventilator system (HRV/ERV) to bring fresh conditioned, filtered air year round
into your home. It’s like leaving the windows open without the energy loss!
Instead of recirculating the same stale air you are now creating true air
exchanges into the home and reducing overall particulate levels.
Step 4: Run A Quality
Air Purifier. But which ones? There are hundreds of air purifiers out there that all
claim to do about the same thing. We started evaluating these various purifiers
during the course of our daily air quality assessments using a laser particle
scanner to measure the ultrafine particulate emission. Our studies found lower
particulate levels in the homes where people were regularly running an IQair (www.iqiar.com) and Austin Air (www.austinair.com) brand purifier.
Step 5: Maintain and
Clean Your Systems. Your furnace, air ducts, and even chimney can backfire
with exponential ultrafine particulates. Yearly attention to these critical
systems will ensure proper exhaust and filtration. We recommend hiring an
independent licensed technician who is experienced with your particular system.
Your technician should advise you without bias about whether a MERV 16 filter
is too much filtration and will cause your system to be clogged and should show
you why your furnace is not exhausting the harmful particles and fumes.
