At the very outset we need to accept that it exists. If you are wondering what then let me enlighten you by addressing the elephant in the room. I am talking about indoor pollution. It took me almost a complete day to convince my parents that such a thing exists. Yes then I had to listen to the “in our times things were so simple” saga all over again. But I succeeded to a certain good extent. I feel unless you accept the existence of a problem you won’t be able to figure out its solution. Indoor pollution is one of such things. We are so used to of breathing the polluted air that we have given up on the idea of pure air.
The first cross that my father came up was about various outdoor factors that causes pollution. “What is polluting the air inside my home”, was his next question. I guess his question was based on the fact that nobody smokes inside our house. “Smoke polluting air” is such a conventional thought that its very difficult to think beyond it. I had to make him sit and list all the other factors which contributes to polluting air inside our house.
The list begins with as simple as the air which comes through our window. Often the outside polluted air swoops in through our windows and we end up inhaling carbon monoxide. Did you know every time mom fries anything in the kitchen it adds to the indoor pollution. Yes we do have an exhaust but it isn’t effective hundred percent. Don’t you remember we all keep sneezing even if the exhaust is on.
By this time I had his attention, so I presented the long list.
- Chemicals (Nitrous Oxide) from the LPG pollutes the air.
- There are various volatile organic compounds in the paints which beautifully articulates our walls, they are also a significant contributor in polluting the air.
- Every time something rots in kitchen, it doesn’t just get mom upset it upsets the air health too.
- Every time we light the incense stick and wick of the lamp, we are adding to the indoor pollution of air.
“Oh these are nothing as compared to the outdoor pollution and moreover all these factors have been here since a long time. Nothing happened to any of us so far.”
This was his response to my long list of indoor pollutants. The fact that these inside demons doesn’t show immediate affect, they are often hidden under multiple layers of complacency. They are never the show stoppers.
All of these above mentioned common factors play a monumental role in increasing the levels of various harmful chemicals inside the house. Slowly and gradually the levels of carbon monoxide, methane, carbon dioxide, ammonia and other dangerous increase, without triggering any alarm. The increased level of these chemicals pave path for some very dangerous health conditions. Heart problems, cancer, breathing problems, pneumonia are a few to name but there are many more. The indoor pollutants are like parasite who feed on your resources and back stab your body whenever they deem fit.
My father froze and was all startled while I spoke about these inside demons which pollutes the indoor air.
“The way you put it out, it looks like a serious concern”, he said. What should we do to make sure that we are doing our bit to curb it, was his next question. I then explained him that we don’t need to spend a fortune to fight these pollutants all we need is a little vigilance and some efforts. We then sat down to list what all we could do to prevent the increase in level of indoor pollution.
- First things first the ventilation. Though usually the houses have good ventilation system but we often forget to open the windows. A little effort in this area will ensure that the house gets necessary sun light and fights basic germs in the air.
- Next important thing is the choice of paint. One should always use the paints which are specially made to reduce pollutants. Talking about that I have to mentions Royale Atmos from Asian Paints which is technically proven to fight and reduce pollutants. Also Asian Paints is a leading brand which comes with years of trust and reliable results.
- No smoking inside the house.
- Have lid based trash cans.
- Toilet train your pets properly.
- Check on the oil consumption in kitchen
- Regular check inside the refrigerator to ensure nothing is rotting and hence no formation of fungus and bacteria.
- There are many indoor plants which are popular for purification of air inside the house. Few very popular and easy to find are Aloe Vera, Chlorophytum comosum or Spider Plant, Viper’s bowstring hemp or Snake Plant, Chrysanthemum and many more. A simple google search will give you a huge list of plants with air purification qualities.
- Keep the house clean and litter free, something that goes without saying.
As we finished my father looked a little content with the solution list.
He immediately went outside to educate our neighbour uncle about the grave issue of indoor pollution. There is so little that we know about indoor pollution. It is an important issue and it needs to be discussed and treated on priority. Hope my little effort will spread some awareness.