Indoor Smoke and it’s effects on IAQ
Indoor Smoke can come in a few different forms for indoor air quality, here are a couple:
Secondhand Smoke
Secondhand smoke is a mixture of over 4000 chemicals and 60 of those are known to be carcinogens, things that are known cause cancer. People should avoid secondhand smoke because it can be harmful to them. Five minutes of exposure causes changes in the aorta, 30 minutes of exposure causes changes in the cornea arteries. These are immediate effects it can be devastating to the individual.
We know that secondhand smoke for children is very serious and can cause ear infections, asthma exacerbation, lower respiratory infections, upper respiratory infections, pneumonia and even sudden infant death syndrome.
For adults secondhand smoke can cause heart attacks, over 50,000 people in North America who are not smokers have heart attacks related to secondhand smoke exposure. It also can cause lung cancer, over 3000 cases of lung cancer every year are reported in people that are non-smokers.
It is recommended that people should have no exposure to secondhand smoke and specifically for people that have heart disease should have no exposure to secondhand smoke whatsoever.
Indoor smoke from cooking
If you think your kitchens range hood is just a convenience for keeping your home from smelling like last nights dinner you’re wrong. Your kitchen range hood plays an important role in improving indoor air quality and protecting you and your family from dangerous byproducts of cooking, especially if you use natural gas is your fuel source.
Every time we cook we potentially release dangerous smoke, chemicals and gases into the air of our living environment, your kitchens range hood is designed to remove these particles from your home to the outside. Make sure that you use your kitchens range hood on its highest setting every time you are cooking.
Remember do not smoke in your house and don’t allow anybody else to either and use your kitchen range hood every time you’re cooking and you will improve your indoor air quality by reducing the amount of indoor smoke. If you’d like to book an indoor air quality check up contact Home Pros Group at 780-455-1188.