Indoor air is much more polluted than people realize. It’s usually the case that the air outdoors is far cleaner than the air in your home. Here are the most common air pollutants found in American residences.
Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless gas produced by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. It can enter your house through a furnace not properly burning natural gas, a car idling in the garage, or other ways. At low levels, carbon monoxide causes headaches and dizziness. At high levels, it can cause confusion or even death.
Mold
Mold grows in moist conditions. It occurs most often in kitchens and bathrooms, but it can appear anywhere. For example, the soil of indoor plants provides an ideal place for mold to grow. Symptoms that your home has mold include headaches, stuffiness, throat irritation, skin irritation, and coughing.
Daniel's Heating & Refrigeration Corp. in Midlothian, VA, helps people with mold and other indoor air quality issues. We install dehumidifiers, for example, which can keep your indoor air from having too much moisture.
Secondhand Smoke
People who smoke indoors should know that a cigarette contains more than 4,700 chemicals. Secondhand smoke causes the same long-term health issues as smoking. These include stroke, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Short-term side effects provoked by secondhand smoke include eye, nose, and throat irritations.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
VOCs are created by many household products such as aerosol sprays, perfumes, glues, hair sprays, solvents, fabric softeners, and cleaning products. Health effects include headaches, loss of coordination, different types of cancer, and damage to the kidneys, liver, and brain.
Formaldehyde
This is a gas released by common items people keep in their homes, including carpets, drapes, paper products, products made of pressed wood, glues, and adhesives. Formaldehyde can cause learning problems, anemia, hearing loss, and damage to the kidneys, brain, and nervous system.
The technicians from Daniel's Heating & Refrigeration Corp. in Midlothian can help you to improve your indoor air quality. They can also handle the installation, maintenance, and repair of your heating and cooling equipment. Besides that, residential and commercial customers count on us for expertise with water heaters, refrigeration, and sheet metal fabrication. For any of these services, call us today to set up an appointment.
