Without question, people spend the majority of their time indoors.
The indoor air quality of their workplace or home is not at the fore front of most people’s minds.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air pollution is two to five times more polluted than the outside air.
In fact, it can contain as much as one hundred times the amount of pollutants as found in the air outside.
According to the World Health Organization, 30 percent of all buildings pose a serious health hazard due to indoor air pollution.
The question is why and what can be done about it?
Over the past several decades, our exposure to indoor air pollutants has increased due to a variety of factors.
First, due to high energy costs we are constructing more tightly sealed buildings. The flip side to this greater energy efficiency is reduced ventilation rates.
Rather than opening windows to allow an inside/outside air exchange, the ventilation is controlled by a mechanical heating and cooling system.
Any biological contamination (mold, fungi, viruses, bacteria growth) can be easily spread through the ventilation system.
Second, we live in a plastic based, chemically infused society. The use of synthetic building materials and furnishings, office equipment, pesticides, household and personal care products, as well as cleaning products, all contribute to indoor air pollution by releasing volatile organic compounds into the air.
These volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) can aggravate allergies, asthma, and other chemical sensitivities. Related to VOC’s are gas phase organics such as tobacco smoke, outdoor air pollution, carbon monoxide from motor vehicle traffic, and radon gas all of which can contribute to indoor air pollution.
Health Canada reports that over ten million Canadians suffer from allergies, and the United States has over fifty-five millions allergy suffers.
Eventually the carpet gets filled with dry soil as well as air borne pollutants and stops working efficiently, much like your furnace filter.
In fact, the EPA, the Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI), and the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) Carpet Cleaning Standards S100 all state carpeting should be cleaned first for health and then appearance.