Raising children is a challenging but rewarding job. As a parent, you always want the best possible environment for your children. That includes safe neighborhoods and schools and healthy foods for them to eat. It also means helping ensure your kids have clean air to breathe. Here are some of the many benefits of clean air for your children at home and school.
1. Healthier Lung Development
Maintaining clean indoor air in your home is essential for your children even long before birth. Studies demonstrate that human lungs first begin developing three weeks after conception. From that moment on, your kids become vulnerable to lung development issues via secondhand pollution exposure. There’s a causal link between that exposure and decreased lung capacity that becomes apparent around age 7.
Additionally, your child’s lungs won’t finish developing until much later than you might think. Studies show that lung development in females continues until age 18. In males, it doesn’t end until the early 20s. Poor indoor air quality can slow lung development and leave your children with lifelong respiratory issues.
2. Faster Physical Development
Having healthy air to breathe helps improve energy levels in children and promotes physical activity. That helps aid their physical development. It can accelerate musculoskeletal growth and enhance physical endurance. Dirty air, in contrast, is linked to stunted growth in children. According to the National Institutes of Health, polluted air can delay growth in children up to age 13. While most affected children recover after that time, studies have also linked those delays to later health complications.
3. Stronger Immune Systems
Clean air is also essential to developing your child’s immune system. Polluted air can trigger an immune response, flooding your child’s body with white blood cells. That causes inflammation, which can damage healthy cells. In the case of an infection, the response would subside when the danger passes. The reaction never stops with polluted air, weakening your child’s ability to fight off actual infections. That can lead to chronic illnesses and damage to their respiratory, neurological, and circulatory systems.
4. Reduced School Absences
For your child to succeed in school, they must be present and ready to learn. Poor indoor air quality in your home increases the frequency of illnesses in your child, keeping them out of school. That’s a significant problem because statistical surveys link school absenteeism with poor educational outcomes. In particular, frequently absent students often fall behind in subjects like reading and mathematics. Those deficiencies become progressively more challenging to overcome as your kids age.
5. Improved Cognitive Function
Clean air will also help your children when they do attend school. Multiple studies link a variety of common air pollutants to impaired cognitive function. For example, inhaling fine particles known as PM2.5 causes various issues in children. They include working and short-term memory problems, delayed processing speed, and fine motor control issues. As PM2.5 is a common pollutant found in indoor air, removing it is vital to your child’s academic success.
6. Improved Mental Health
Although you may not realize it, polluted air can also harm your child’s mental health. Statistics indicate that even short-term exposure to contaminated air increases their chances of hospitalization for psychological issues. Problems like anxiety, intense stress, and even suicidal ideation can result from exposure to polluted indoor air. The increase in the likelihood of mental health issues isn’t trivial. Longitudinal surveys identified the following risk increases associated with poor air quality:
- A 6% increase in instances of depression
- A 17% increase in bipolar disorder diagnoses
- A 20% increase in personality disorder diagnoses
7. Reduced Allergy and Asthma Symptoms
If your children suffer from allergies or asthma, keeping your home’s air clean is essential to minimize their symptoms. Many of the common threats to indoor air quality are also triggers for those conditions. For example, PM2.5 exacerbates asthma and may trigger frequent attacks. So can smoke, dust, and airborne chemicals. Pollen, pet dander, and dust mites are often the causes of allergy attacks. All those substances may be in the air inside your Elk Grove, CA home.
How to Improve Your Home’s Indoor Air Quality
The first step in ensuring your kids have healthy air to breathe at home is to have your air tested. That will reveal what, if any, pollutants befoul your indoor air. It will also indicate whether your home suffers from humidity issues, another component of its air quality. There are a variety of solutions to common indoor air quality issues.
Whole-House Humidifiers and Dehumidifiers
In Elk Grove, the average annual relative humidity level is 66%. That means high indoor humidity is a common problem in homes here. A whole-home dehumidifier uses your home’s ductwork to pull in air and extract moisture. Some of these devices work alongside your HVAC when it runs, while others operate independently.
However, if your home is especially well air-sealed, you may have the opposite problem. That could prevent the humidity outdoors from raising the levels inside your home. Indoor humidity that hovers below 30% is an air quality problem in its own right. For that, you could install a whole-home humidifier. This type of humidifier adds moisture to your air as your HVAC runs or uses built-in air circulation fans to do the job.
Air Filtration and Purification Systems
If your air quality issue stems from dust, dirt, allergens, or PM2.5, an air filtration or purification system will help. Most use woven physical filtration media to trap pollutants as air passes through. Some use electrostatic filters that attract pollutants using positive static charges. Others use high-performance HEPA filters, eliminating up to 99% of particulate matter from your air. Depending on your specific air quality problems, you may require a system using a combination of these filtration methods.
UV Light Air Sterilizers
UV light air sterilizers may be appropriate for air pollutants like bacteria, viruses, and mold. They apply UV radiation to prevent the reproduction of those contaminants. Sometimes, the light will destroy bacteria, viruses, and mold outright. In others, it renders them inert and harmless to humans. However, exposure to UV radiation is dangerous for people. So, most such systems get installed inside ductwork and in other concealed spots.
Local Indoor Air Quality Specialists
At Huft Home Services, we offer indoor air quality solutions to Elk Grove homeowners. Together, we can help keep the air your children breathe at home and school safe, clean, and healthy. Plus, we offer comprehensive HVAC, plumbing, and electrical services. We’re your one-stop shop for all of your home’s infrastructure needs. We specialize in home electrification projects and insulation and offer home performance audits. We’re also active in the community, sponsoring initiatives like Volunteers of America’s Operation Backpack. You can always count on us to prioritize your comfort and safety while offering value, integrity, and transparency. Check our customer reviews.
If you need indoor air quality solutions in Elk Grove, call Huft Home Services now!
