The winter has come. Have you ever had such an experience: the indoor air quality in winter gets worse? when you go home or visit friends in winter, you will be surrounded by a peculiar smell, and when you enter the house, you feel very uncomfortable. So how to improve indoor air quality in winter? Let us figure out in the following content!
3 Reasons Why Indoor Air Quality in Winter Gets Worse
Before we talk about how to improve indoor air quality in winter, we first analyze the reason why winter indoor air quality gets worse. Friends who work in office buildings should have a similar experience. They often feel dry, have Chest tightness, dizziness, and easy fatigue; it is easier to catch a cold, respiratory problem, and other symptoms, and even sitting somewhere for a long time without moving around will feel weak and easy to fall asleep.
According to reports, from December to the next February, the morbidity and mortality of the elderly in our country are four times higher than the annual average. Experts believe that this is directly related to the climate and environment in autumn and winter. So, why does indoor air quality in winter get more harmful?
1. Going out less and doing indoor activities more time make indoor air quality in winter get worse.
A survey shows that urban people spend about 80% of their time indoors every day, and autumn and winter are more than 10% more than summer. Due to the relatively closed indoor environment, various pathogenic bacteria spread through the air and droplets and stay there. In a room with no air circulation, some virus and bacteria droplets in the air float for more than 30 hours. It makes them easy to get sick. Close the doors and windows, and the density of harmful substances increases. Harmful gases such as formaldehyde released from interior decoration materials and furniture, and carcinogens produced during smoking will continue to increase indoors and cannot be diluted. If a person absorbs a high concentration of benzene in a short period of time, symptoms of central nervous system anesthesia will appear. In mild cases, dizziness, headache, nausea, fatigue, and confusion will occur. In severe cases, coma and death will occur due to respiratory and circulatory failure.
2. Frequent using heating appliances exacerbates harmful gas emissions, thus making winter indoor air quality get worse.
With the continuous decrease of temperature in autumn and winter and the opening of heating, the indoor temperature is relatively high, and some toxic and harmful gases in building decoration materials and furniture will be released with the increase of temperature, seriously affecting indoor air quality.
3. As the temperature drops, the effect of ventilation and sewage is weakened, causing bad indoor quailty in winter.
Opening windows through air convection in summer will release a certain amount of indoor air pollution, but after the decoration is completed in autumn and winter, when the indoor temperature is lower than 20°C, the effect of opening windows to ventilate and remove decoration pollution will greatly weaken. When the indoor temperature is lower than 10°C, all decoration pollution will accumulate indoors and will not be released outside. Even if the windows are opened for ventilation all day long, the effect of removing decoration pollution is not significant.
How to Improve Indoor Air Quality in Winter?
After knowing the reasons why winter indoor air quality gets worse, now we should figure out how to improve indoor air quality in winter. Here I recommend 7 ways for you to improve the indoor air quality winter.
1. Adopting a ventilation system is helpful with the indoor air quality.
Indoor air is up to 10 times more polluted than outdoor air. Over time, stale air can cause health problems for occupants (headaches, fatigue, allergies, etc.) or damage the building itself (humidity, mold, etc.). To ensure healthy indoor air, simple ventilation by opening the windows is not sufficient. With the supply of fresh air, you will lower the level of CO2 in the room – the cause of headaches in particular. However, you will not act on the other pollutants present in the indoor air (bacteria, viruses, pollens, VOCs from paints or furniture items). The only effective solution to renew the air is to install a ventilation system. Whether you live in a house or an apartment, there are solutions!
2. Regular Ventilation will improve indoor air quality in winter.
your furnace and air conditioner recycle indoor air, which can be stale and unhealthy. To improve air circulation, leave windows and doors open, use an exhaust fan and consider adding a filtration system to your heating, ventilation, or air conditioning system. When painting, varnishing, or deep cleaning, it is particularly important to ventilate your home.
3. Always keep your home clean.
Eliminate bacteria, toxins, and allergens by regularly cleaning, mopping, and dusting your home. When cleaning, try to avoid the use of chemicals. Opt for natural products instead. As we all know, dust mites bask in warm, moist fabrics. So we should avoid creating a cozy nest for them, avoid piles of laundry or stuffed animals. Every morning, we imperatively wait to have aired the room before making the bed. Add a good vacuum on the mattress every week. And if you are allergic, know that there are anti-mite mattress covers and pillowcases. They have the advantage of completely enveloping the bedding elements and thus isolating the sleeper. A slatted base is also recommended to limit proliferation! Keep in mind that a clean environment is significant!
4. Consider using a HEPA air purifier to improve winter indoor air quality.
When it talks to how to improve indoor air quality in winter, I will definitely tell you: choosing a HEPA air purifier is the most efficient way to improve the winter indoor air quality. A HEPA air purifier is designed to filter particles, such as bacteria. virus, pollen, smoke, pet dander, and other pollutants. At present, the purification of gaseous pollutants by air purifiers mainly relies on activated carbon adsorption. Most air purifiers on the market could remove and abort the bac, viruses, smoke, pet smell and dust, and other pollutants. So when you choose an air purifier, you could consider servals factors, such as CADR, the HEPA Stage, how big is your room, etc.
5. Pay more attention to garbage sorting.
Most snacks, such as yogurts, and biscuits, are packed with plastic and other material. However, these may contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs). To reduce the indoor air pollution in your kitchen and fridge, please get rid of this unnecessary packaging as soon as you get home. Or you'd Better prefer foods sold in bulk, refills, or without (too much) plastic. Finally, do not forget to do garbage sorting: improving your indoor air quality is good. Sorting your waste in addition is even better!
6. Try to avoid smoking indoors!
If you are a smoker, this is an important reason for you to stop smoking! The combustion of a cigarette generates the formation of toxic substances such as carbon monoxide, ammonia, tars, and other metals (lead, mercury, chromium). For the WHO (World Health Organization), smoking kills more than 7 million people worldwide each year, including 890,000 passive smokers. This means that the impact of tobacco on indoor air quality is significant. If quitting smoking is completely too difficult for you, please try to smoke outside as much as possible.
7. Air out the dry-clean clothes before taking them home.
Dry cleaning requires a chemical called perchloroethylene (PERC) which can end up in the air in your home. Exposure to a large amount of this chemical can disrupt the central nervous system, irritate the respiratory tract, or cause even more serious damage. Air out items dry-cleaned before you take them home, or try to find an eco-friendly dry cleaner.
Hope the above 7 ways can help with your worries about how to improve indoor air quality in winter. If you want to learn more about air purification, just keep an eye on the updates of SimPure!
