One of the most important topics to think about during pregnancy is the constructing of a safe, nontoxic nursery for your baby. In this post I’m going to deal specifically indoor air quality.
There are many items inside a home that can significantly compromise the air quality and the overall conditions inside the personal environment. Whether that be a fresh coat of paint, new carpeting or flooring, or new furniture. All these things can impact the quality of the air inside a home and can negatively impact the health of everyone exposed to this environment. Babies are even more susceptible due to their underdeveloped immune systems.
The Hidden Dangers Lurking in a Nursery
Did you know that there could be potentially hazardous air pollutants circling the indoor air of your home? These pollutants can range from allergens, mold, bacteria, viruses, and hazardous volatile organic compounds (VOCs). As these pollutants circulate within your home’s air it can make its way into the safe space of your baby’s nursery and impact the quality of the air that your baby inhales in this room. We are going to discuss the different impacts that each type of pollutant has on indoor air quality and the effects it can potentially have on your baby’s health.
Mold
Mold is a fungus that grows in both indoor and outdoor environments, wherever ideal conditions are present for the mold to thrive. When mold develops indoors it can introduce many hazards into the environment affecting both the indoor air quality and the health of those exposed to these rapidly growing funguses. Mold is very sneaky and will grow sometimes without signs in your environment – that is until it starts to cause structural damage and impact your health. Babies and toddlers have very low immune systems that are still in the development stage, which leaves their health compromised and their susceptibility level to airborne containments increased – this can be hazardous when it comes to mold growth that leaves your baby exposed.
If you are concerned about mold growth and exposure in your baby’s nursery it will be beneficial to conduct mold testing with the use of inexpensive home mold test kits. There are a variety of different mold test kits that are available for consumers that will help to properly evaluate potential dangers in your home that stem from mold growth and contamination inside your personal indoor environment.
Bacteria & Viruses
The entrance of bacteria and viruses into your home will lead to the circulation of these airborne contaminants throughout your indoor environment. These two microorganisms are the cause of diseases like the common cold, influenza, and contribute to the aggravation of asthma symptoms. These organisms travel easily throughout the air, as someone sneezes or coughs it becomes introduced into the air and can than become exposed to others in the environment through inhalation or ingestion of the contaminated air.
Testing for bacteria and virus count in your home’s air can be more extensive than that of other pollutants, as it will require air quality samples taken of your home’s air to be reviewed by a laboratory. This will require longer testing times to identify the presence of these contaminants in your baby’s nursery.
Allergens
A pesky contaminate that is commonly found within indoor environments like a home are allergens that can spread throughout the environment in the air and settle on surfaces in the contaminated area. An allergen is a substance that becomes airborne in the air and will potentially trigger a response in humans that starts in the immune system and results in allergic reaction symptoms in the body. These allergens can come from a variety of things including pollen, pet dander, mold spores, dust, dust mites, and cockroaches that produce an allergen in the indoor space that will travel into the air. As these allergens enter into your baby’s room, it can lead to an adverse health reaction in your baby upon exposure to these allergens.
When it comes to testing for allergens in your home’s indoor air there are many indoor air quality meters that can be used to monitor the levels of pollutants within the air including allergens. This is an easy and fast result test that can give you a gauge on your air quality.
VOCs
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are chemicals that are found in the form of liquids or solids in manufactured items. When these chemicals reach room temperature they turn into a gas and are released into the air. This chemical emission in the air will significantly taint the quality of the air and can be dangerous when inhaled or ingested.
The major sources of VOCs inside a nursery are paint, carpeting, pressed wood used in furniture, and glues and adhesives used in building materials.
Health Effects of Indoor Air Pollution on Infants & Babies
Infants, babies, toddlers and children are all more susceptible and at a greater risk of adverse health effects from airborne contaminants found in polluted air than adults. Infants and toddlers underdeveloped immune systems can have trouble fighting off chemical invaders that enter into the body. Children breathe at a more rapid rate than adults, which can mean that they take in more air than adults. When air pollutants are present in a small child’s environment these can lead to potentially significant health issues.
According to recent data released by the World Health Organization (WHO) globally, 93 percent of all children live in environments with air pollution levels above safe levels. Among this 93 percent of children, more than one in every four deaths of children under 5 years of age is directly or indirectly related to environmental risks such as air pollution. This data highlights the risks and hazards of air pollution, especially with the amount of time that newborns spend indoors.
Tips for Cleaning the Air in Your Home
Bad air inside your home can be filled with potential toxins and contaminants that can significantly impact the environment, whether it is throughout your house or in specific rooms in the home – like your babies’ nursery. Bad air can trigger an array of adverse health reactions, particularly in young children with underdeveloped immune systems. Therefore, being proactive and prepared with methods to clean the air in your home and in your babies nursery will help to shield their health from potentially hazardous pollutants inside your personal indoor air.
Air Rooms Out
Did you know that indoor air was found to be 2 to 5 times more polluted than that of outdoor air? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has spent a great deal of time to research the potential hazards that are present within indoor air quality in concern to the adverse reaction caused to human health within these indoor spaces. Many indoor environments like homes are designed tightly, leaving little ventilation in the home to effectively flush out contaminated, stale air from the indoor space – this can contribute to an over buildup of contaminates in the indoor air of your home, which will pour into all rooms in your home including your baby’s nursery. Allowing the entrance of fresh air throughout this enclosed space will help to flush out contaminants and pollutants that have accumulated in your indoor air.
Opening windows is a great way to aid in the ventilation of your home in an effort to exchange bad air for better air inside the home. This is particularly important in preparation for your baby’s arrival, as there are many ‘new’ items inside of the nursery such as flooring, bedding, changing tables, paint, and even new clothes. These items can be releasing chemicals into the air of the nursery, which will significantly compromise the quality of the air in this area. The more air that is produced inside of the room, the faster the contaminants that are off gasses into the space can be removed from the air.
HEPA Filters
An air purifier with a HEPA filter is the preferred type of filtration for nurseries, particularly an air purifier that uses UV-C lights that kills microorganisms. HEPA filter technology is able to mitigate and collect fine particulate matter larger than 0.3 microns with a 99.97% efficiency, this means it will collect both allergens and chemicals that are found in the air. Allergens such as dust ranges in size from 0.5 microns to 100 microns in size, in relation to bacteria which is usually 0.3 microns to 60 microns in size. The ability for a HEPA filter to capture these potentially harmful contaminants is highly needed inside a nursery.
Filters with UV-C Lights
Another important feature on an air purifier is the use of UV-C lights within the purification device. When people hear the word UV-C lights, they may think of damaging sunrays that can impact human health. When it comes to UV-C lights inside air purifiers like in the EnviroKlenz UV Air Purifier there are no health risks to those exposed – as these lights are actually designed within an air purifier to kill bacteria, germs, viruses, and mold spores. This will be significantly helpful in protecting an infant, baby, or toddler from developing airborne illnesses in the indoor environment.
What to Avoid
Some types of air purifiers contain carbon, ozone, and ionizers – these technologies fall short when it comes to completely eliminating chemicals from the air.
Planning and preparing for your newborn’s arrival is a very exciting time, full of happy memories and fun planning. Decorating your baby’s nursery will be something you will never forget, but don’t let the potential hazards invade your new baby’s space.
Be on the lookout for nontoxic cribs, flooring, toys, and other items to keep the environment safe and clean for your baby – and an air purifier might be a great option to aid in the protection of clean air for your baby!