{"id":899,"date":"2022-01-16T18:09:45","date_gmt":"2022-01-16T23:09:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.njairquality.com\/?p=899"},"modified":"2022-01-16T21:18:07","modified_gmt":"2022-01-17T02:18:07","slug":"how-does-winter-affect-indoor-air-quality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/how-does-winter-affect-indoor-air-quality\/","title":{"rendered":"How Does Winter Affect Indoor Air Quality?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Persistent hacking cough, space heaters,\nwinter allergies, depression, poor ventilation, plastic window protectors, door\ndraft stoppers, and other fire hazards are some of the causes of dangerous\nlevels in the air quality of our dwellings during the cold winter months.\nSenior citizens and young children are especially vulnerable to the threats of\npoor ventilation in the winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Persistent\nHacking Cough<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Why is it that certain people are susceptible\nto nighttime coughing in the winter months? Morton, a senior holocaust survivor\nin his nineties repeatedly calls his doctor to complain about night coughing.\nThe first thing the doctor asks him is how high the heating temperature is in\nhis bedroom. Seniors and children are more sensitive to the cold and less open\nto practical solutions such as lowering the heat at night. We will discuss the sometimes-dangerous\nsolution for seniors and children called space heaters in later paragraphs in\nthis article. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of us but especially senior citizens are\nsusceptible to the negative effects of overheating the home. Morton\u2019s daughter\nwalked into his home one night and remarked on the warmth in the home. \u201cJust\nsitting here with you is making me drowsy. Your room temperature is much too\nhigh\u201d, she remarked. The initial comfort of a heavily heated house feels good,\nbut we don\u2019t realize that it is not healthy for our overall well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morton must try other ways of keeping his\npersistent cough at bay as all of us dwellers in cold climates. It goes against\nour nature to feel cold when the remedy is either near our beds such as a\nheater or the gadget on the wall called the thermostat. If one must keep the\nthermostat high during the day a timer or clock should be adjusted so that the\ntemperature is lowered while occupants are sleeping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Space\nHeaters<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Space heaters are an economical way to save\nmoney on heating. Sometimes in apartment houses the heat is not adequate for\nthe family to live comfortably. A space heater can bolster the temperature of\nindividual rooms such as bedrooms for those who are sensitive to cold such as\nseniors and children without overheating the total home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, according to the U.S. Consumer\nProduct Safety Commission more than twenty-five thousand fires each year are\nconnected to the use of space heaters causing more than three-hundred deaths.\nBurn injury victims from space heaters that require hospital emergency room\ncare are estimated to be about six thousand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent tragic fire in the Bronx, New York last week will add many more fatalities and victims to the above statistics. At least 17 people died from smoke inhalation in a nine-story apartment building. This tragedy has become New York City\u2019s most deadly inferno in three decades. A space heater that was left running continuously along with other space heaters in an apartment burst into flames killing at least seventeen people and critically injuring fifteen others. Although many more people could have survived but did not because of faulty maintenance issues in this building constructed in 1972, the fault still lies with the space heater. Yes, if the self-closing door would not have remained open and there would have been a building-wide sprinkler system the injuries and damage would have been much less but ultimately the final blame lies with the heater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Residents of the building admitted that such\nspace heaters were usual during such abrupt drops in temperature as are\npresently occurring in New York. A survey recently conducted in New York City\ncited that the lower income housing developments have a higher percentage of\nthe dwellers using extra heating equipment to -keep their apartments\nsufficiently warm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are ways to minimize the dangers of\nspace heaters. Never place your space heater right near your face or elevated\nnear your bed. The only place it should be is on the floor but not on a rug or\ncarpet. In fact, putting it too near your fluffy feather quilts or flammable\nfabric sheets is quite risky even though it is tempting to put it right near\nyour body so that you feel the heat directly. The \u201cthree-foot rule\u201d states that\nno heater should be within three feet of anything flammable. Besides fabrics this\nalso includes matches and paints that can ignite. If kids or pets live in the home,\nthey could knock over the heater easily igniting a fire. So, the \u201cthree-foot\nrule\u201d includes keeping pets and children far away from the space heater. Even\nkeeping the heater unplugged when not in use could be a safety risk since this\nappliance draws enough electric current that a smart kid can easily plug in and\nturn the switch on. Professionals advise against plugging in the space heaters\ninto surge protectors since this increases the risk of heat buildup. Certain\nbrands of space heaters have timers that can be set to go off at the time the\noccupant is falling asleep. Each brand has unique features, and the owner\nshould check out the safety features before using. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poor\nIndoor Air Quality & Ventilation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is relatively simple to check out your home\nfor ventilation issues. Some indications of poor air quality are the feeling of\nstuffiness with breathing, moldy areas in the home, heating systems that are\ndirty and water condensation on windows and walls. This condensing is most\nnotable upon entering the home on a cold day. When people try too hard to keep\nout the cold, they end up keeping out the fresh air as well. We would think\nthat it would be beneficial and practical to close all draft areas such as\nwindows and doors by using heavy plastic sheeting to protect windows and door\ndraft stoppers at the bottom of doors connected to the outside. However, by\nconserving the heat in the home you are unfortunately keeping out the little\nbit of fresh air that sneaks into the home from these tiny openings which does\nhelp keep the air quality satisfactory in the home during the winter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another indication of poor air quality due to\nlack of adequate ventilation are smelling distinct odors when entering the home\nfrom the outdoors. The fact that your home smells good from freshly baked\nsourdough or artisan bread might seem like a great lore for guests. However, if\nthe odor does not go away after a day you can assume that your home ventilation\nis poor. Even more disturbing is when the smell is not a good one such as the\nsmell of fish the day after it was broiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Disturbing\nEmotional & Physical Symptoms Due to Poor Air Quality<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are some people who develop winter blues from the lack of sunlight and fresh air. This could turn into depression especially in older people who rarely leave their home in cold weather. The flow of heat in the house can be comforting on the one hand since the cold does increase aches and pains, however, at the same time too much heat can fog the brain and bring down a person\u2019s mood. It is imperative to let in the sunshine and fresh air by opening shades and curtains each morning and taking a short stroll every day to catch the fresh air. If the person is incapable of going out, the windows should be opened to air out the home at least in one room per day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to nurse Ashley Wood of Atlanta,\nGeorgia, the winter air outside and the air inside your home both have low\nhumidity. This is a recipe for the sinuses to become dried out and irritated. The\ncombination of indoor and outdoor air dryness causes chronic runny nose, nose\nbleeds, dryness of the mouth\/throat and asthma flare-ups. One way to get relief\nis to purchase a home humidifier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When shopping for a humidifier there are\nseveral details to take into consideration. There are two types of humidifiers,\nwarm-mist and cool-mist. If there are no young children in your home a\nwarm-mist humidifier is a solid choice. Clean water is placed inside this\nmachine which is brought to a boil emitting steam which adds needed moisture to\nthe dry air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pediatricians warn of the danger of warm-mist\nhumidifiers around young children so their parents would choose the cool-mist\nversion. To determine which humidifier is right for you several factors must be\nconsidered. You want to get just the right humidity level in the room which\naccording to the Environmental Protection Agency is between thirty and fifty\npercent. Too much moisture can promote the growth of mold, dust mites and\nbacteria while too little humidity can cause the symptoms described above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final\nWords<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Practical but dangerous solutions to the\ndepressing cold of the winter months are causing allergies, coughing and\ndangerous fatalities such as fire and carbon monoxide inhalation. Remedies such\nas sealing windows with plastic and wind protectors at the bottom of doors\nfacing the outside of the house are temporary solutions that cause unhealthy\nindoor air quality. Space heaters feel good near the bed but are perilous to\noccupants of any home and specifically apartment houses. Staying cooped up in a\nwarm house may seem cozy but people who are locked into their homes by choice\nor seniors who are afraid to venture out because of viruses, flu or even icy\nconditions outside can suffer indoors. Such isolation is the perfect storm for\ndepression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Increasing the level of good air quality in the home by opening windows to let in fresh air, checking the air quality levels in the home professionally, and avoiding the use of space heaters while sleeping are some ways to reduce depression, allergy, and most of all deadly home fires. Let\u2019s get through this winter safely and welcome spring with renewed optimism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Persistent hacking cough, space heaters, winter allergies, depression, poor ventilation, plastic window protectors, door draft stoppers, and other fire hazards are some of the causes of dangerous levels in the air quality of our dwellings during the cold winter months. Senior citizens and young children are especially vulnerable to the threats of poor ventilation in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=899"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":906,"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899\/revisions\/906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}