Healthy Living Tips, Nutrition And Healthy Living Guide

We asked a number of doctors, researchers and building consultants to tell us about possible home air hazards and how some of them can be eliminated, maximizing effectiveness and minimizing expense. What we’re breathing:

Carbon monoxide: You can’t see it, smell it or taste it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. At lower exposures, it can cause headaches, dizziness and nausea, and is easily mistaken for the flu. At higher exposures, it can kill you within minutes. To be safe, make sure all your gas appliances (furnace, stove, water heater, etc.) are working properly. As an extra precaution, install a carbon monoxide detector.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs): A group of chemicals, including benzene and formaldehyde, which can evaporate at room temperature, these compounds can be found in a long list of products we use in our homes, including electronic devices, solvents, air fresheners, cleansers and disinfectants, cosmetics and moth balls, as well as building materials and furnishings, including paints, upholstery, carpets, vinyl floors and composite wood products. VOCs have a wide range of known health effects, from none to grave, depending on the chemical. In particular, the US Environmental Protection Agency recommends minimizing any exposure to benzene, methylene chloride and perchloroethylene.

For all VOCs, outgassing (in which the chemical evaporates and enters the air as a gas) occurs at room temperature — the warmer, the faster. Also, the newer the product containing the VOC, the more outgassing occurs. In fact, one way to minimize outgassing in wood furniture is to buy it used, suggests Mary Cordaro, a building consultant in Valley Village who inspects and tests homes for contaminants.

Chlorine: Many common household cleaners are loaded with toxic chemicals that can irritate your eyes and throat, etc., and can even be fatal if swallowed.

For this reason — and to be ecologically friendly too — “the home environment should be kept clean with minimal use of harsh cleaning products,” says Dr. Ware Kuschner, an associate professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He does research on the health effects of indoor and outdoor air pollution.

Some cleaners can be even more dangerous if mixed. For example, Dr. Paul Blanc, professor of medicine at UC Berkeley and author of “How Everyday Products Make People Sick,” says poison control centers get thousands of calls due to “bleach misadventures” — the combination of bleach with hydrochloric acid (commonly found in toilet cleaners) — a dangerous misalliance that produces chlorine gas. If this happens to you, you’ll know by the dreadful smell and by the way your eyes sting and your skin burns if you get any on you. It’s a dramatic illustration of why our experts emphasize the need to follow instructions.

Dust mites: You may not be aware of it, but you’re always sleeping with the enemy — millions of the enemy, in fact — microscopic dust mites that live on dander, yours and your pets’.

According to Environment, Health and Safety Online, 100,000 to 10 million mites may have bedded down in a used mattress, and dead mites and their droppings may account for 10 percent of the weight of a used pillow. Carpet and upholstered furniture are other favorite hangouts.

All dust mites do to most people is gross them out. But some people can have allergic reactions, not to the mites themselves but to their feces. For most victims, the symptoms are much like hay fever, but asthmatics can also have difficulty breathing.

To avoid dust mite woes, our experts recommend dust mite barrier covers, with a couple of caveats. Cordaro warns, “Only get the kind that don’t have vinyl in them” (because of the phthalates). And Kuschner notes that although the covers are the standard first line of defense against dust mites, two 2003 studies cast doubt on their effectiveness. Researchers found that the covers successfully reduced exposure to dust mites but not allergic symptoms.

Other approaches to the dust mite problem include washing your bedding frequently, in hot water, and keeping your room temperature cool (below 21 degrees Celsius) and dry (below 50 percent humidity).

The more clean air you bring into your home, the more dirty air gets pushed out. In fact, ventilation can mitigate all the problems described about. And it’s free. At least it can be if you ventilate by opening the windows. Sometimes it’s not enough, though, and they you might resort to using air cleaners, especially if you have asthma or another lung disorder. Many models are available, some better than others and, often, more expensive than others too. Some simply don’t process enough air to make much difference in air quality.

A good air filter on your furnace can also help. Filters generally have a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value rating on their packaging. The higher the MERV, the more particles the filter should trap. The American Lung Association recommends filters with ratings of 10 or higher, which should capture more than 85 percent of particles. In general, the best filters use an electrostatic charge to attract particles. Fiberglass filters are the least efficient.

In fact, a whole range of devices, from germicidal lights to entire home air filtration systems, are available.

LA Times