It is useful to decorate your senior apartment in Lewisville, TX with furniture or devices that could help you to stay healthy. What the pandemic has taught us is the significance of healthy indoor air quality, specifically within retirement communities. Truly, the advantages of clean indoor air go far beyond the COVID-19 virus.
Air pollution is the reason behind some 60,000 deaths in the US in 2019, caused by cardiovascular disease and chronic respiratory disease, to name a few. Approximately 95 percent of these deaths were 50-year-old individuals or older.
The quality of indoor air is usually two to five times worse than the outdoor air in the US. Particulate matter (PM) is the pollutant that is most concerning, referring to very tiny liquid or solid particles that can be carried by the wind and stay suspended in the air.
Other pollutants have negative health impacts too, such as high levels of carbon dioxide, various forms of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), allergens, mold, and ozone. Detection of unpleasant scents can also signal unhealthy indoor air quality and has proved to affect one’s mental health negatively.
Many elderly in housing communities spend their time indoors, mostly. Unfortunately, our bodies become weaker in tackling the perils of air pollution as we age! Hence, cleaner indoor air plays a huge role in improving elderly wellbeing. There are many solutions available on the market that are effective in keeping indoor air clean. Here are three that could double as decor to improve indoor air quality:
Install Portable Air Purifiers.
Portable air purifiers can successfully filter pollutants, with some able to trap and destroy airborne bacteria and viruses. In Michigan, a randomized clinical trial discovered that the use of portable air purifiers over a period of three days caused a decline in PM2.5 exposures and systolic blood pressure in elderly staying in urban areas. However, there is a caveat: in the cleaning process, some air purifiers deliver ozone and various forms of dangerous by-products, hence do be careful when deciding on purchases.
Improve Existing Ventilation Systems.
Integrating higher MERV-rated in-duct filtration systems, raising the outdoor air percentage when need be, and increasing air change rate allow existing ventilation systems to release cleaner air effectively. Of course, system capacity, labor cost, increased additional energy cost, and other limitations have to be taken into account before starting any improvement project.
Indoor Air Quality Monitors.
We are not able to “see” if the indoor air quality of our homes is healthy or not. Thus, we often have no clear idea of indoor air quality problems in our residences. In this case, indoor air quality monitors allow residents and operators to detect particulate matter pollution in real-time. In fact, the data retrieved can be used to improve existing portable air purifiers or ventilation systems to help tackle indoor air pollutants in a more precise manner. Over the years, sensor technology has improved and plenty of lower-cost sensors are available on the market today.
Do remember that cleaner air is critical to protecting your health. Make the first step by integrating the suggested indoor air quality solutions into your apartment!
