Help Protect Your Family and Breathe Easier

Help Protect Your Family and Breathe Easier

(ARA) - A healthy home? Does that mean everyone in the household is free of germs and sniffles? By today's environmental standards, it's much more. A healthy home is one that allergy and asthma sufferers and everyone can appreciate. It features clean indoor air with proper ventilation, filtration and moisture control. A healthy home is high on comfort and low on humidity, dust and other airborne irritants.

Consider these facts:
* The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranks indoor air pollution among the top five environmental public health risks.
* EPA studies show that indoor air can be four to five times more polluted than outdoor air.

Now is the time to take proactive steps to improve air quality inside the home for greater health, safety, environmental and energy-saving benefits.

Clean living
One option is to live in an American Lung Association Health House. Developed in conjunction with builders and homeowners to focus on home design, construction, renovation and operation, the program aims to create healthy indoor air quality.

Typical components of a Health House include:
* Foundation waterproofing and moisture control
* Advanced framing techniques
* Air sealing and advanced insulation techniques
* Energy efficient, high performance windows
* Energy efficient and sealed combustion appliances
* High efficiency air filtration
* Whole house ventilation
* Humidity control
* Carefully selected interior finishes

Whether you live in a Health House, or another house where you'd like to improve indoor air quality, consider making improvements to help promote clean living.

For example, consider how much dust collects on curtains or blinds. It's a fact that windows with blinds or shades protected between panes of glass are healthier options than traditional room-side treatments. Researchers at the University of Iowa found Pella Designer Series windows can significantly reduce certain indoor airborne allergens. Testing found windows with room-side blinds collected 200 times more of certain indoor airborne allergens than Designer Series products.

In addition to staying cleaner, Designer Series windows and patio doors with triple-pane glass are No. 1 for energy efficiency among top national brands according to Superior NFRC U-values and SHGC ratings.

Plus they reduce noise up to 80 percent (Computer simulation compared to single-pane wood windows. Actual results may vary). And because Designer Series products feature no potentially hazardous room-side cords, the cordless system is a safer choice for homes with children and pets.

Here are some other hints to follow for a healthier home:

* Have a professional inspect, clean and tune up the central heating and cooling system before the start of each season for optimal energy performance and to reduce exposure to indoor air toxins that can irritate eyes, nose and throat.
* Use dehumidifiers to dry out wet or moist walls, typically in basements -- maintain humidity at 25 to 40 percent to help maintain furnishings and reduce condensation.
* When you're building a new home or renovating one, choose "exterior grade" pressed wood products (hardwood plywood wall paneling, particleboard, fiberboard or furniture made with pressed wood) because they help reduce pollutants.
* Buy carpet or carpet pads with little or no formaldehyde content.

Safe habits
Health and safety are closely linked. Safe living begins at home.

Practicing fire prevention is a fundamental first step for the safety of your loved ones. According to the National Fire Protection Association, in 2006, nearly 3,700 fire fatalities were reported in the U.S., with 80 percent of those fire deaths in homes. Yet less than 25 percent of U.S. families have practiced a plan for exiting the home safely in case of a fire.

"Reduce potential fire hazards in your home often, and at least twice a year, plan and practice a home fire safety escape route that can help you protect what's most important -- your loved ones," says Kathy Krafka Harkema, Pella fire safety educator.

Begin the home fire safety drill by drawing a floor plan of each level of your home. Next, designate two exits from every room in your home -- a door and a window. Make sure doors and windows open quickly and easily to help ensure a quick exit; if not, consider replacing them for safety's sake. When replacing windows and doors, look for the ENERGY STAR designating the most energy-efficient options for your home.

In the event of a fire, train your family to gather in a designated meeting place safely outside your home. More home fire safety tips from Pella's "Close the door on fire!" campaign are available at http://www.pella.com/about/fire.asp.

For more information on how you can improve the air quality and energy efficiency of your home, call your local Pella Window & Door expert at (888) 84-PELLA or log on to www.Pella.com.

Courtesy of ARA Content