How to Breathe Free from IAP?

Indoor Air Pollution (IAP) has become a predominant existence in our lives; however, we can certainly mend the damage done by ensuring the implementation of certain practices. But, before we go about implementing them, we should fully understand the meaning of IAP.

As the name implies, IAP simply means the pollution of the air within four walls. However, there have been many spin-offs to this definition. The best among them has been given by the World Health Organization (WHO) and entails the rise in the number of harmful pollutants, such as fine particles and carbon monoxide, in the indoor air due to inefficient cooking and heating practices, for example, cooking on open fire or traditional stoves using solid fuel (wood, charcoal, coal, dung and crop wastes).

Now let’s come to the different practices for curbing IAP – as we had mentioned in the first paragraph:

1. Minimizing the emission of chemical pollutants: As complicated as this might sound, it can be done by ensuring the following:

a. No smoking within four walls
b. Minimizing the usage of solvent-based cleaners and the ones with strong fragrances
c. Ensuring that activities like paint stripping, hobby soldering or gluing, painting, sanding and rock polishing are undertaken outside
d. Ensuring to turn off cars within garages and lawnmowers when not in use

2. Controlling moisture: IAP is inevitable in homes with high amounts of moisture. Therefore, the following things should be undertaken for ensuring that the moisture content within homes remains at a bare minimum:

a. Using dehumidifiers for keeping homes dry and maintaining relative humidity levels to less than 60 per cent
b. Repairing leaks within walls and floors as soon as they appear
c. Taking immediate action in the situations of flooding or water drainage, namely:
i. Removing wet materials
ii. Discarding porous materials that have mold
iii. Ensuring that washroom exhaust fans are kept on while showering
iv. Ensuring that indoor plants are not over-watered as this encourage mold-growth

3. Ensuring impeccable ventilation: It is extremely important to ensure smooth passage of air within homes and offices. The following practices should be undertaken.

a. Keeping windows and doors open in summers but not during spring and fall seasons
b. Ensuring to properly install mechanical filters and changing them periodically
c. Using air purifiers for ensuring that the indoor air is consistently purified. Good choices are Blueair Classic and Blueair Sense+
d. Making sure that furnaces, fireplaces, heaters, exhaust fans are vented outside and not towards windows and Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) intakes
On a closing note, IAP-free homes are ones that belong to people aware about the harms that can occur from airborne particulates. In fact, the awareness level is the mainstay for ensuring that the air indoors stays clean, fresh and free of air pollutants.

website: https://www.blueair.com/in

Toll-free: 18008331188

Blueair is central to making IAP-free homes into realities as its Highly Efficient Particulate Arrestance (HEPA) air purifiers work like a charm to remove air pollutants measuring as small as 0.1 microns.

Be Proactive and Buy an Air Purifier

Every morning, running to the balcony to breathe in fresh, clear and rejuvenating air is the best thing to do. Then one should freshen up, have breakfast and get ready for going to work. However, and unfortunately, the world has changed a lot today. Although, nobody has taken away our regular morning routines, there is one thing that no longer exists: Fresh, clean air.

Today, the air-pollution levels of Indian cities have risen to alarming levels. Therefore, living in a pollution-free environment is nothing but a dream. Sixteen out of the 30 most-polluted cities are in India and New Delhi – the capital – is one of them. Further, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the capital as the most polluted city in the world.

Citizens of our nation can’t afford to sit on the side lines waiting for things to happen. The need of the hour is that of displaying a proactive bent-of-mind with a clear focus of curbing the ill-effects of air pollution for making our homes into safe, clean air zones and not polluted ones.

The first of the two steps towards the accomplishment of this goal is purchasing and installing an air purifier. After all, it has many benefits when it comes to cleaning polluted air. Namely:

• The ability of removing pollutants measuring as small as 0.3 µm
• The ability of eliminating odours completely owing to the removal of even second-hand smoke (put simply, the smoke passively inhaled and present due to the smoking of tobacco by others)
• The ability of removing airborne bacteria that can cause serious health problems
• The ability of destroying airborne viruses
• The ability of removing toxic gases and chemical compounds that can lead to lung cancer

The second step is that of being aware about the type of air purifier that one intends to buy. In order to do so, the following should be kept in mind before a potential purchase:

• Why do they need an air purifier?
We should be well-aware about the problem to be solved through an air purifier. If the problem is that of allergies, then HEPA air purifiers should be selected because they are capable of removing 99.97 per cent of common airborne allergens from the air, for example, pollen, dust, ragweed, dust mites, and pet dander.

For asthma, the obvious choice is an asthma air purifier or an odour and chemical air purifier. However, if the level of smoke is high within rooms, then smoke air purifiers should be purchased because they are manufactured to remove smoke, fireplace soot, and other fumes that can either lead to respiratory diseases or unpleasant odours or both.

For people sensitive to chemical compounds, the ideal solution is to purchase an air purifier for Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS).

However, these are not the only problems that one can come across. Therefore, purchasing an all-purpose Blueair purifier, such as the Blueair Sense+, is highly advisable.

• What size of air purifier do they require?

The size of air purifiers depends on the dimensions of the room within which the air purifier is to be placed. One should also keep in mind the Air Change per Hour (ACH) rate as well. Blueair purifiers are the best deals because they come in different shapes and sizes. For example, the Blueair Classic can fit as snugly within a room as it can within an office.

• What type of features should an ideal air purifier contain?

The knowledge about features works well in selecting the ideal purifier. Therefore, one should check the following:

o Caster wheels
o Handles for easy mobility
o Digital controls
o Multiple fan speeds
o Filter-change indicators
o Programmable timers
o Air-quality sensors

For example, the Blueair Sense+ air purifier comes with a state-of-the-art control method: It is a Wi-Fi enabled air purifier that can be controlled using a smartphone and a mobile application.

Our government should duly aid these purchases by incentivizing air purifiers and reducing the import duties on these devices so that every Indian is able to afford an HEPA air purifier or a room air purifier in his or her home.