Last Tuesday night in our Green Building class we were fortunate enough to have an outstanding presentation by Lyndon C. Capon MD. One of his main topics was "Sick Building Syndrome" (SBS) is used to describe situations in which building occupants experience any number of illness related to time spent in a building. When he discussed some possible symptoms of a SBS one in particular woke me up. Headaches. Last week I was showing a new Townhome and as soon as I opened the door we were noticeable aware indoor air pollutions or off gassing. Within minutes I felt like I had a pin stuck in my forehead. Overtime, many of the materials and finishes that contain VOCs will off gasses contaminating the indoor environment. Flushing out the house prior to occupancy by opening all the windows can all fresh air to remove some of the VOCs prior to occupancy.
Several tips to Improving Indoor Air Quality (IAQ):
Eliminate the individual source of pollutions. There are many good options such as; Low volatile organic compounds (VOC) carpets, cabinets, and paints can reduce concentrations of these pollutions.
Ventilation
By increasing the amount of air exchanged between indoors and outdoors will greatly improve indoor air quality.
Air Cleaning
Help remove air particles from the air, some charcoal filters help to remove chemicals as well.
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