How You Can Keep Your Lungs Healthier
Did you know, October is national Italian American heritage month, national apple month, national bat appreciation month, national cookie month, national toilet tank repair month, national roller-skating month, and national pork month. Appreciating all these things simultaneously can prove difficult at times, but you manage.
But did you know that October is also healthy lung month? That’s right! Whenever you’re not eating cookies or appreciating bats, you should spend October thinking about ways you can maintain and improve your respiratory health.
A Few Ways You Can Keep Your Lungs Healthy
Get regular exercise. Physical activity can help reduce your risk of developing a number of different diseases, including lung cancer. People who are physically active may enjoy a 20% lower risk of lung cancer. Receiving just 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days per week can also make your circulatory and respiratory systems more effective at carrying vital oxygen to your internal organs.
Quit smoking. Cigarette smoking is the leading risk factor for lung cancer, and is linked to approximately four out of five cases of the disease. It is also the most significant risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which causes obstructed airflow from the lungs.
Minimize your exposure to pollutants. The air outdoors can contain high concentrations of harmful pollutants such as ozone, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide. Pay attention to the air quality index (AQI) where you live and avoid going outdoors when the number is high.
But the quality of the air outdoors is not nearly as important as the air inside your home – the place where you likely spend most of your day. Did you know that airborne allergens are usually 200 to 500% higher indoors than they are outside? In fact, about half of American homes contain at least six detectable allergens such as dust, dust mites, pollen, smoke particles and pet dander. Fortunately, there are several things you can do right now to limit your exposure to harmful indoor pollutants!
Three Ways You Can Reduce Your Exposure to Indoor Pollutants
Install better HVAC air filters. The higher its minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) rating, the more effectively an HVAC filter can remove airborne particles. The MERV rating ranges from 1 to 20. A high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, is able to trap airborne particles as small as 0.3 microns in diameter. The most common bacteria are no wider than 1 micron in diameter, which makes a HEPA filter excellent for virtually all indoor spaces.
Install an air ionizer. An air ionizer does not destroy airborne particles. Instead, it electrically charges them so they clump together, thus making them too heavy to remain airborne any longer. Once clumps of formerly airborne particles sink to the floor, removing them from your home is as simple as vacuuming.
Install a UV air purifier. UV air purifiers remove airborne microscopic organisms by bombarding them with ultraviolet light, which destroys their genetic material so effectively that it kills 100% of all common bacteria. UV air purifiers are available as standalone units, but the most effective models are installed right in a home’s ventilation duct system.
We particularly recommend the REME HALO whole home in-duct air purifier. In addition to treating all the air which passes through the duct system with the same UV light that is so deadly to microbes, it also produces low levels of hydrogen peroxide that reduce bacteria, viruses and mold spores in the air and on surfaces alike. The REME HALO is even able to eliminate contaminants that are too small for a HEPA filter to intercept!
If you live in the greater Richmond, Minnesota area, then we welcome you to contact Gilk Plumbing Heating & A/C for all your indoor air quality needs. We’re standing by to better explain just how effectively the REME HALO can keep you and your family safe from airborne pollutants, and we install GreenTek’s industry-leading air exchangers as well!
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