Since Americans reportedly spend half their lives within the walls of their homes, it is important to give some thought to the quality of the air we breathe inside those homes and what we can do to improve that air. Mold toxins, lead dust, radon gas or asbestos fibers are discussed elsewhere on my web site and must be immediately and specifically dealt with.

However, improving air quality also includes air that will perhaps makes us sneeze with allergies or will cause some discomfort but not air that will be seriously harmful to most generally healthy persons. Of course, what is an irritant to some may certainly be dangerous to others with special health concerns or to the very young or elderly.

It is unlikely that a home buyer will find a home with the highest level of air quality. Instead the home buyer should determine the approximate costs of improvements to air quality they want to make and factor it into their budget and home purchase plans. If a home seller has invested substantial cost into improving air quality, that fact should be made know to all interested buyers.

The purpose of this web page is only to point your towards some sites that have discussed air quality for your own education. The EPA has many publications discussing air quality in your home. Two are The Inside Story - A Guide to Indoor Air Quality EPA 402-K-93-007 and Should You Have Your Air Ducts In Your Home Cleaned EPA 402-K-97-002 You can find and download these publications at the publication site for the Federal government, EPA, located at:

http://nepis.epa.gov/EPA/html/Pubs/pubtitle.htm


The following site has many articles on environmental concerns including air quality and specifically recommends products. This site is the home base of Glen Haege, referred to as America’s Master Handyman. I have several of his books and listen regularly to his radio program on all things about your home. I strongly recommend his website at:

www.masterhandyman.com

Read his many articles to educate yourself. He writes specifically about the following to improve household air quality: duct clean and sanitization by a chemical or ozone method, air purifiers (ozone machines or utlra violet), ventilation improvement, advance furnace filters and air cleaning devices such as HEPA filters.