The air in our homes is a combination of millions of small particles and gases. Today, homes are built with tighter construction to help keep energy costs lower. This has the effect, however, of permitting fewer air changes - and of keeping higher concentrations of airborne particulates inside the home.

Untreated, higher concentrations of these particulates can take their toll. Paint, wallpaper, and interior decorating fabrics can become dingier as particulates settle. These particulates also may cause eye and throat irritation, sneezing, headaches and coughs.

Some particulates found in indoor air are as fine as .01 microns in diameter, or 10,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. Commonly found substances include:

• Pollen and plant spores
• Dust
• Viruses, bacteria, and fungi
• Pet dander
• Human skin flakes
• Dust mites, droppings, and their carcasses
• Cooking smoke and grease
• Mildew and mold
• Cigarette smoke

Dust Mites

Pollen

Bacteria

Pet Dander

1. Source reduction is attacking particulates at their source. This might involve some drastic measures, such as cutting out smoking and getting rid of pets. But obviously, these solutions might not always be possible or practical.


2. Another solution is to dilute the concentration of particulates in the air with cleaner outdoor air. Dilution is desirable because it helps decrease gases given off by carpeting, building materials, and other products. While some air is continually leaving your home, it may not happen at a very high rate in tightly-constructed homes. To speed up dilution, you can open windows and doors to let in more outdoor air. This, too, is not always practical or possible, especially in the Winter.


3. The third solution, filtering the indoor air supply, can take several routes. Almost every home has a basic furnace or air conditioning filter, which prevents the biggest particulates, such as lint, hair and large dust, from getting into the furnace. These filters operate at a cleaning efficiency of about 5% at best (meaning that they only remove about 5% of all the particulates in your air). A better solution would be upgrading to a whole-house high efficiency air cleaner.