Preventing Asthma by Lowering Household VOC’s 954-566-4555
Lowering Household VOC’s May Help to Prevent Asthma
I have written before about the benefits of making your home green by lowering VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) and the role terrazzo floors can play in this endeavor. In addition to these ideas, another benefit of lowering VOC’s in green homes is asthma prevention.
Terrazzo floors do not emit VOC’s, nor do they retain moisture or harbor dust mites, making them very environmentally friendly for your home.
There is a great non for profit agency called Clean Air Counts“. This agency is located in Chicago. Part of their mission is to identify agents that cause VOC emissions in order to find ways to reduce or eliminate these VOC’s from communities and homes. One of the targets of these reductions is asthma prevention.
In addition to adding or maintaining existing VOC emission free materials such as terrazzo floors, Clean Air Counts” recommends the following strategies:
1) Use air-friendly cleaning products
Air friendly cleaning products reduce the amount of toxic, ozone forming chemicals released by traditional cleaning products used in the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room. About 20 tons of VOC’s are released each day from consumer products used in metropolitan areas. Using cleaner products helps protect the health of your family by reducing or eliminating their exposure to the chemicals released by cleaning products. Air-friendly cleaning products tend to be multi-purpose, so a single air-friendly cleaning product can replace several specialized traditional products. These products are available in most stores, and are typically labelled by the manufacturer as green” or “eco- friendly”. Many stores group these air-friendly products together in one section or aisle.
2) Use low and zero VOC paints when doing a remodeling project.
Paints are made with a high percentage of volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) so they will dry faster. VOC’s are a primary contributor to smog and ozone alerts. Low level VOC paints release fewer fumes in newly painted rooms as well as outside, helping to avoid ozone alerts. Many people who are sensitive to paint fumes suffer headaches or eye or respiratory irritation when exposed to paint high in VOC’s; others just hate the strong smell. Children are especially sensitive to the chemicals released in paint fumes and the resulting ozone produced. When painting, remove any soft materials, like pillows and blankets, because they absorb the VOC’s and release them into the air later. You can also find recommendations for air-friendly paint on the green Seal website.
3) Use natural landscaping on your property
Natural landscaping uses native plants, wildflowers and grasses to landscape instead of planting traditional turf grass. Because natural landscaping is adapted to the local geography, it requires fewer pesticides, fertilizers and watering to maintain. This can improve the air quality both because it reduces the use of pesticides and because it minimizes the need to mow our lawns. A gasoline powered lawn mower pollutes as much in one hour as does driving an automobile for 350 miles!
We live in a time where we can no longer ignore and abuse our environment. Everything we do must reflect environmental consciouness, until our daily habits become green.
The dramatic increase in cases of asthma in the last 15 years, is thought to be the direct result of high VOC levels in homes and communities. Each of the small steps mentioned above, including choosing or maintaing VOC free home materials such as terrazzo, are important parts of preventing asthma.
I hope you find this information as useful as I did!