While we fuss over the quality of air outside our homes, the air quality within our homes is just as crucial. The importance is centred more so on children who are the ones who spend more time at home than anyone else. Here’s what you should know about keeping your indoor air clean and breathable.

Children tend to have more rapid breathing rates. For example, newborn babies often breathe 30-60 times per minute. Toddlers might breathe 20-30 times per minute. Older children and adults, when resting, usually breathe about 12-20 times per minute. Over the course of a day, that adds up to 17,000-30,000 breaths per day – or more!

Good ventilation will ensure that the air your family breathes contain lots of oxygen and less indoor pollutants like cooking odours, smoke and carbon dioxide.

Why Use an Air Purifier?

High concentrations of chemicals within the home originate from cleaning products, smokers in the home, pets and airborne chemicals, such as VOCs (volatile organic compound) and off-gassing from furniture and appliances.

Children breathe in more air than adults. That is why minimising chemicals and toxins in your home through an air purifier is important. With clean indoor air, common symptoms caused by indoor pollutants, such as itchy eyes, headaches, sore throat and dizziness can be minimised.

Of course, many steps can be taken to prevent indoor air pollution and decrease the need for an air purifier in a child’s room.

  • Stop smoking!
  • Get rid of carpeting that can trap dust, mold and pretty much everything else you picked up from outside your home.
  • Use ‘natural’ products instead of harmful chemicals to clean your home. A mixture of lemon juice and baking soda, for instance, makes a powerful, effective surface cleaner.
  • Work on your green thumb and do some indoor gardening. Plants clean the air of toxins and provide oxygen.

Better Air for Babies and Toddlers

Having an air purifier in the home will filter and trap airborne particles and chemicals that can easily be inhaled by infants. Since babies’ lungs are still developing, it is important to keep the air as clean as possible. If your baby or toddler is especially sensitive, has allergies or asthma, a home air purifier would bring not only relief, but your child will be happier too!

When Air Purifiers can be Dangerous

Some air purifiers turn out to be hazardous ozone generators, releasing ozone as a by-product. Before, purchasing an air purifier, do some research on the model and make sure that it’s the safest buy. Ozone is a known respiratory irritant and although it is safe when it is up in the sky protecting us from harmful UV rays, down here, it can cause chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath and throat irritation. Ozone can also worsen chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections.

Other Areas Of The House That Requires Proper Ventilation

Ventilation is equally important in the kitchen and bathroom, where too much heat hitting cold surfaces causes condensation, which can lead to problems with dampness and mould.

It’s also crucial to ensure that there is proper ventilation in any room containing a gas appliance. All gas appliances need good ventilation, for they produce carbon monoxide as they burn.

Source: Air Resources Board, US.