Is indoor air pollution worse than outdoor air pollution?
→
As air pollution causes 7 millions of premature deaths, air quality is a serious concern for everyone. There are still some very common beliefs that are far from being replaced with correct notions. So, are you wondering if indoor air is worse than outdoor? This post will answer your question.
You probably think that outdoor air pollution is the worst, right? Well, you are wrong! The truth is that indoor air pollution affects us more than we can imagine. What you probably do not know is that almost half of them are a result of exposure to indoor air pollution.
Insulation makes our homes airtight and air polluted
EPA says that we spend up to 90% of the time indoors. The number raises up even more with people that suffer more the consequences of air pollution such as children and old adults. Another thing to take into consideration is that outdoor pollutants are unstable: in fact, they raise and fall due to traffic, weather, season.
Outdoor air quality is continuously monitored and traffic is restricted when it’s necessary. But this doesn’t happen with indoor air that is up 2 to 5 times more polluted than outdoors.
"Indoor concentrations of some pollutants have increased in recent decades due to such factors as energy-efficient building construction and increased use of synthetic building materials”.
The reduction of air leakage along with the lack of sufficient mechanical ventilation cannot permit toxic pollutants to go outdoors. What’s more is that this is impossible even if you open doors and windows to ventilate your home.
So, it’s true that indoor air pollution is 2 to 5 times more polluted than outdoor! But due to time spent indoors and concentration, can become 100 times worse and affect our life quality and health. Check our blog post to see how indoor air pollution affects your health.
Does outdoor air pollution affect indoor air quality?
Now that you know that indoor air quality matter for you and for your beloved, you may also ask yourself if outdoor air pollution condition also the presence of several particulates indoors, such as PM2.5. The answer is yes, as this kind of particles are really small, they infiltrate in every breach they can reach.
As stated from scientists, a percentage between “54 to 63% of PM2.5 came from outdoors when the windows were closed, and it increased to as high as 92% when the windows were open”.
How to eliminate indoor air pollution
We know that the situation seems really bad, but don’t give up! There are lots of little things that can make a difference to improve significantly air quality. For example, you don’t need to stop ventilate your home because you are afraid that pollution comes in. An easy way to solve the problem is to study the conditions of your area: night usually the traffic is lower and so pollution, so you can postpone ventilation to evening or maybe in your area there are more slots of time pollution free. And this is just one. To find out new solutions to get rid of toxic agents outdoors, you can also check our article about how to get rid of indoor air pollution.
Our solution to indoor air pollution
To help people like you, concerned about what you breathe every day, we created a product that eliminates 93% of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), 99% of bacteria, viruses, fine particulate and significantly reduces odors. It works with the power of plants and a photocatalytic filter that doesn’t need to be replaced, forever.
Natede is our smart natural air purifier that works thanks to the power of living plants. It has also the most advanced sensors to monitor indoor air quality, humidity, and temperature. You can check it even if you aren’t at home thanks to its app and its real-time insights.
