What is your favorite thing to do with your furry friends? Many enjoy taking their dogs to the Riverwalk Dog Park in Riverside, CA, while others enjoy finding new ways to entertain their indoor cat. We love our indoor animals, but did you know they could be affecting your indoor air quality? Pet dander is a common indoor allergen and can be the cause of a variety of negative health symptoms. In this article, we discuss the impact indoor animals have on air quality and how to improve indoor air quality while keeping your furry friend inside!
What Is Indoor Air Quality & Why Is It Important?
Indoor air quality (IAQ) determines the amount of allergens and pollutants within your home, office, or building. If indoor air quality is good, the air within your home has little to no harmful pollutants floating through the air. If indoor air quality is negative, your home’s air contains various harmful allergens that are likely affecting your health. According to the EPA, the average American spends 90% of their time indoors. This means the majority of your day is either spent breathing good or bad air, which is important to be aware of!
Breathing in harmful pollutants can present both short-term and long-term health effects. It is important to maintain positive indoor air quality at home and other buildings where you spend a large amount of time inside to minimize negative effects. Below are ways poor indoor air quality can affect your health in Riverside, CA and surrounding areas.
Short-Term Health Effects
- Runny nose
- Irritated eyes
- Dry/scratchy throat
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
Long-Term Health Effects
- Respiratory diseases
- Heart disease
- Cancer
Along with poor air quality harming your health, it can also harm your home as well. Humidity levels contribute to air quality, and it is important your home remains between 30-50% humidity. If humidity levels are high, mold and mildew can grow in various places around your home. Mold can cause each resident in your home to have poor health and allergy symptoms, along with damage to your personal belongings such as wood warping. If humidity levels are too low, you may experience dry and cracked skin, increased susceptibility to illnesses, and static electricity.
How Do Animals Affect Indoor Air Quality?
Pet dander is one of the most common allergens affecting indoor air quality. Pet dander can be a combination of many particles, including dead skin cells. A common misconception among our population is being allergic to pet fur, which is not the actual allergy. People with pet allergies are allergic to the protein that is found within pet dander and saliva. Pet dander is collected within the animal’s fur and can easily be distributed when your pet sheds. If you breathe in pet dander, it can trigger common allergy symptoms such as watery eyes, an irritated throat and nose, coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. If pet dander is the only allergen in your home, it is likely the worst health effect to happen is an asthma attack. It is important to take action to minimize pet dander and other pollutants to maintain positive indoor air quality in Rancho Cucamonga, CA and surrounding areas.
Ways To Improve Indoor Air Quality With Pets
At Dragonfly Heating and Cooling, we treat indoor animals as family and would never suggest getting rid of a furry friend. However, one of our top priorities is keeping our customers healthy by keeping the air you breathe clean. We support implementing ways to reduce allergens produced from indoor animals and improving indoor air quality any way possible. Below are ways to maintain good indoor air quality with indoor pets in Anaheim, CA and other areas.
- Regularly Groom Animals Outside Your Home
- Frequently Dust & Clean
- Install An Air Purifier
- Implement Fur-Free Zones
Regularly Groom Animals Outside Your Home
Regularly grooming your pets can provide a wide array of benefits for them, such as pest prevention and maintaining a healthy fur coat. Additionally, keeping them clean helps reduce pet dander allergens around your home. When brushing your animal’s fur coat, we strongly recommend doing so outside of your home. This allows pet dander to be released outdoors rather than building up inside and decreasing indoor air quality. Regularly grooming, whether personally or with one of the pet groomers in Riverside, CA, can keep both you and your pet healthy year-round!
Frequently Dust & Clean
While dusting can be a tedious task for some, it can be extremely beneficial to your indoor air quality. Pet dander contributes to dust and can build up around your home, which negatively impacts the air you breathe. Pet dander is a tiny particle and often clings to dust particles that float around your home and ventilation system. Additionally, dust mites feed off of pet dander and can elevate the dust mite population. It is important to regularly clean and dust your home to minimize the negative effects that come with airborne pet dander.
Install An Air Purifier
Air purifiers target negative air pollutants such as pet dander and can help keep your air clean! At Dragonfly Heating and Cooling, we provide a number of indoor air quality services in Riverside, CA, such as air purifier installation. Air purifiers collect harmful pollutants and release clean air into the space after the purification process. Air purifiers are extremely beneficial when it comes to improving indoor air quality in homes and offices. Give us a call to install an air purification system in Riverside, CA and surrounding areas this spring and summer season!
Implement Fur-Free Zones
If you are struggling with uncomfortable allergy symptoms in your home, we recommend considering “fur-free zones.” Many homeowners designate their bedrooms as areas where indoor pets are not allowed, because it helps improve air quality in that room and allows a good night’s sleep. However, it is important to identify indoor air quality solutions to keep you breathing easy in your whole home!
Let the Dragonfly Heating and Cooling team keep you healthy and comfortable with our indoor air quality services in Riverside, CA and surrounding areas! Give us a call to install an air purifier or explore other beneficial ways to improve air quality.
