Wednesday, Apr. 6, 2005

Spring is in the air; how do you get it out?

Daffodils blooming. Leaves popping. Birds chirping.

These are all signs that spring is in the air. It is the most enjoyable time of the year for the majority of us. But along with the new life sprouting all around us come the seasonal allergens that plague the rest of us.

When you suffer from seasonal allergies making your home a haven of relief is a must. If you suffer from allergies, being an indoor air quality expert is necessary for survival, especially when you live in Georgia. There is no better time than the present to start your education in indoor air quality.

One of the contributing factors to a rise in indoor air quality complaints is the increasing amount of time spent indoors. Another is the fact that the homes and buildings constructed today are much more tightly sealed than older structures were. Those two factors help lead us to the solutions to a healthier home. (In this article I am only addressing aerosolized particulates that cause allergic reaction. There are other issues such as materials that release VOC’s that are not addressed here.)

As we spend more time indoors we are exposed for longer periods of time to the same allergens. We also bring in offending matter on our clothing that exacerbates the problem of exposure. With new technology that seals out the outdoor environment making our homes more energy efficient, comes an indoor environment that is sealed off from air exchange; a little fishbowl if you will. That means that as allergens come in, they can’t get out and concentration levels of offensive particulate go up. What can you do?

We must remove the source of the problem. An indoor air quality expert does this by locating the areas that these allergens hide and then cleaning up, performing source removal.

• Cleaning the air. HEPA filtered air purifiers are a popular way to cleanse the particulate out of the air in homes. These can be modestly effective if they are sized properly for your home. You must also maintain the machine correctly including changing the filters. You can even have a HEPA filtration unit attached to your central heating and air unit. Although these can be an effective tool, they are only one tool in your toolbox. They also only remove the particulate that actually passes through that filter.

Duct cleaning is another obvious tool that can improve the quality of your air. If you have a HEPA filtration unit, hopefully you have cleaned your air ducts. If not, the air that you have scrubbed with your filtration unit is being blown through dirty ducts and is now also dirty. Look in the grills of your HVAC system and see what your ‘clean’ air is flowing through and then locate a duct cleaning professional. Be sure that you are selective when choosing a duct cleaning company. They should be able to clean the entire system including the air handler, not just a portion of the ducts. If only a portion of your system is cleaned then you still have a dirty ventilation system. Visit the National Air Duct Cleaners Association’s Web site (www.nadca.com) for more information on air duct cleaning and choosing a professional.

• Defeating the enemy - mold. Mold is currently the most talked about and most feared of the indoor pollutants. Mold is difficult and expensive to get rid of, but really not all that difficult to prevent. The key to preventing mold is controlling moisture. In Georgia we have a high humidity environment so we have to be proactive in eliminating excessive moisture. This means quickly eliminating leaks and other sources of moisture as soon as they are identified. If you have a volume of water enter your home and cause water damage, you should immediately contact a certified water damage restoration company to speed dry the area. Aside from leaks, you must also control humidity to successfully combat mold.

Our spring season is usually pretty humid but the temperatures are mild. The outside air may feel very comfortable and this often fools people into opening the windows and bringing in unconditioned air all spring with no moisture removal equipment running (Your air conditioner). While opening the windows is a great way to bring in fresh air it can also bring in dangerously high humidity levels if left unchecked.

As an indoor air expert you should be able to measure the humidity level in your home and also be able to control it. The instrument that measures relative humidity is a thermo hygrometer. While you may not have heard of this tool before it is readily available at most hardware stores for $20-$60. The humidity in your home must be maintained below 60 percent relative humidity and ideally kept between 30 and 50 percent to prevent mold growth.

You can remove moisture by running your air conditioner. This works well in the summer because the heat forces us to run the air conditioner long enough to remove a sufficient amount of moisture. In the spring though running the air conditioner may not be enough because outdoor temperatures are fairly mild and the unit won’t run much. In that case a dehumidifier is the tool of choice.

Dehumidifiers remove moisture without cooling the air, so they work great in the spring. These can be purchased at hardware stores for between $150 and $250 depending on the size and options you choose. If you have need of a dehumidifier you will remove a lot of moisture, so you should be prepared to empty the basin on the unit at least daily or you can set it up to drain out through a hose. Run the hose to a drain or the condensation pump on your air conditioner if so equipped.

Every basement in Georgia should have a dehumidifier and it should run spring, summer and fall. Your HVAC system doesn’t run very much in a basement and there is a lot of moisture released into the room through the underground walls. If you don’t have a dehumidifier in your basement to remove that additional moisture, there is a better than average chance you will soon have mold. That “basement odor” that you smell is due to microbial activity from high humidity. Reduce humidity and you will reduce if not eliminate that odor problem. That is important because the odor is a warning sign to take action and reduce humidity before you get a mold “problem.”

The EPA provides reliable information on mold without needless sensational rhetoric. The EPA Web site, www.epa.gov, has a section devoted to mold. Their brochure, “A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home,” is available for free download. I recommend looking at that document for sensible advice on preventing and removing mold.

• Carpet or hard surface? There is a big debate about whether hard surface floors or carpeting is a better choice for an allergy sufferer. You can mop hard surface floors and remove almost all of the allergens from the surface. You can’t do that with carpet so shouldn’t you rip out all of your carpets? Since we only breathe in the things that are suspended in the air, we really need to see what is emitting more allergens into the air, carpet or hard surface.

Carpet, upholstery, drapes and other fabric surfaces serve as a filter. These are great for the air quality in your home because they trap the particulate that settles out of the air and prevent it from easily becoming aerosolized back into the air. The problem lies in improper maintenance. Like any filter, if not cleaned carpet, upholstery and draperies switch from being a trap, to being an emitter. This is bad for your indoor environment. When you reach this stage carpet quits improving the quality of the air in your home and starts polluting it. So you must understand how to properly maintain carpet, upholstery and draperies if you want to be an indoor air quality expert.

Carpet and other soft surfaces should be vacuumed daily. One of the single greatest indoor air sins is a vacuum with poor filtration. For assistance in choosing a good vacuum go to the Carpet and Rug Institute’s Web site, www.carpet-rug.org. They have a “Green Label” certification program for vacuum cleaners and you can get a list of units that have received this label at their Web site.

Soft surfaces should also be professionally cleaned regularly. Vacuuming removes a great deal of the allergens from your carpeting, but a professional cleaning of the entire home, including under all of the furniture, should be performed at least once a year. If you are a severe allergy sufferer, it would benefit you to professionally clean at least twice a year. Choosing a quality cleaner can be difficult. There are some resources that can help you to make an educated decision. The CRI Web site, www.carpet-rug.org, has an interview process to help you identify a true professional. The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification’s Web site, www.iicrc.org, has a wealth of information on cleaning as well as a listing of over 3500 certified companies and 33,000 certified technicians around the world. Use their locator to find one in your area. (You can also see a picture of me cleaning carpet.)

Hard surface floors on the other hand do not serve as a filter. This is not altogether bad since they can be easily cleaned. However, if you are “cleaning” your hard surface floors by dust mopping or using a vacuum that is not HEPA filtered, you are just redistributing and aerosolizing the particulate. As an IAQ expert your goal is to get rid of the allergens, not get them into the air.

Hard surfaces should be cleaned using a method that traps dirt. The most effective way to clean is HEPA vacuuming followed by a damp mop. If you have carpet and hard surfaces in your home, purchase a vacuum that can handle both. Hard surface floors should be cleaned once a day for best results. A little-known fact is that dirt can actually collect under furniture, and at an alarming rate at that. If you are interested in a clean air environment be sure to clean under furniture as well.

Creating a healthy environment can be a lot of hard work and it will also cost some money, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Medication to treat allergy symptoms can have unwanted side effects and can also cost a good deal more than a thorough cleaning. As an indoor air quality expert you are now equipped with the knowledge to improve your environment. You can have a healthy, comfortable retreat in your home if you apply these principles. Have fun!