For this month’s blog post we are going
to do a little math, so get those pencils sharpened. Okay we know no one uses
pencils anymore, so bring up your favorite calculator app on your smart phone
and lets get ready.
Lets first start with the setup. If I told you that you had
to spend the next 60 years of your life inside and could never go outside, what
would you do? Our guess is you would try and make the area as comfortable as
possible. Put in an extra window or two so you can at least see outside, make sure
the temperature is perfect inside at all times and so on. What about the air
you are breathing? Would that come to mind? Unfortunately for a lot of people
it does not, but it could be the most important thing you should consider.
Okay, why does any of this matter. Here is where we get to
do some math. Fill in the following blanks with your average (yes we know some
weeks are different than others – we are shooting for an average).
Hours at work each week: ____
Hours commuting to and from work/per
week: _____
Hours eating either in your home
or at a restaurant/week: _____
Hours sleeping/week: _____
Hours watching TV or digital
devices indoors/week: _____
Other indoor hours (reading,
household chores, etc.) per week: _____
Add all these numbers to get your
weekly total of indoor hours: _____
Now lets make this scary. Take the total number of hours you
are indoors per week and times that by 52 to get a year quantity. The average
US resident spends approximately 86.9% of their life indoors (source NHAPS study).
It gets worst when we throw a statistic that indoor air can be up to 5 times –
yes 5 times more polluted than outdoor air. Just for fun lest make this more
depressing and take that over a lifetime. With a life expectancy of 79 you will
spend as many as 69 years of your life indoors (source: energy vangaurd). How
did you match up to the average?
We promise, no more math from us this month. So what can we
do about our indoor time? Thankfully there is a lot that we can do. The simple
answer is to spend more time outside – play or coach a sport, take a daily walk
(and not on the treadmill at the gym), sit outside and enjoy a cup of coffee.
The next step is to do what you can to better your indoor air. When you can,
open windows and get as much fresh air inside as possible. Yes we know that is
not always possible. When it is not, make sure your home is properly
ventilated. Use exhaust fans in the bathrooms and especially in the kitchen.
Also make sure you have a source of outdoor air coming in to replace the air
you are ventilating. Doing all these things will greatly increase the indoor
air quality so if you have to spend that time inside at least you’re doing your
best to make the air as good as possible.
To learn more about Air King’s indoor air quality
solutions visit www.airkinglimited.com
Also make sure to read our other blog posts about indoor air
quality:
Is the Air Inside Your Home Safe to Breath? Part 1 – The Kitchen
The Air Balancing Act
What Has Happen to the Air We Breath?
Getting Particular About Particulate Matter
Bad air out, fresh air in – bringing fresh air into your home
