Air quality is important for your home, especially if you have children or older family members living with you. Not to mention, living in Florida requires keeping our air conditioning systems running almost year round, so the quality of indoor air becomes even more important.
When it comes to improving the indoor air quality in your home, everyday household products you use to keep your home clean could actually be doing more harm than good. The volatile organic compounds given off by these common household products can be a hazard to health, but fortunately, there are steps you can take to reduce the effects of these toxic vapors.
What Are VOCs?
Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are carbon-based chemicals contained in a wide variety of products used in our homes. These compounds have high volatility, which means that they evaporate under normal room conditions, giving off vapors in the process.
What Products Contain VOCs?
Building materials, such as vinyl flooring, carpeting, adhesives, paints and sealing caulks contain harmful VOCs. Other products, like cleaning solutions, disinfectants, air fresheners and cosmetics also release these vapors into the air. Even certain behaviors can cause VOCs in our home environments, like cooking, using dry-cleaned materials or craft supplies, smoking and running certain types of space heaters and stoves.
How VOCs Can Affect Your Health
Constant exposure to low levels of VOCs can make asthma worse and can cause eye irritation, nose irritation, dizziness and headaches. Over time, these chemicals can lead to liver damage, kidney damage, central nervous system problems and even cancer.
What You Can Do About VOCs in Your Home
You can reduce the amount of VOCs in your home by choosing home materials that are free of these compounds. In addition, you can increase the amount of ventilation in your home to clear the interior of VOCs. Keeping the temperature and humidity at recommended levels can help to lower the risks associated with VOCs.
Remove VOCs from Your Home with One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning® of Largo
When it comes to keeping VOCs at bay, your air conditioning system is your home’s first line of defense. At One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning® of Largo, our number one priority is keeping you and your loved ones safe, which is why our products and services provide comfort while improving indoor air quality in the process. Call us or visit us online today to schedule your appointment.