Wednesday 29 June 2016

IAQ: What are greenwalls anyways? Should SAQ start selling them?

INDOOR AIR QUALITY AND GREEN WALLS


For those of you who are not aware... A green wall refers to an actual wall of plants. Some think it looks stupid or silly, but I really like the look of it. Also, knowing this wall of plants will recycle the stale indoor air and provide everyone with an oxygen rich atmosphere is relieving. If you have ever been stuck in traffic on the way to work, or if you have ever had to walk through the city to get to your office, you would of surely been able  to see, smell, and maybe even taste the pollution in the city air. When you finally make it to work, you want to be able to take a deep breathe and feel good about the air you are breathing into your lungs. The same goes for when you come home from work. You should be breathing in clean, fresh air at home and not stale or stinky air. We want to be able to fulfill our day with optimal mental efficiency so that we, as professionals and caregivers, can be as productive as possible. The habits that humans generally engage in every day are habits of wastefulness and pollution. We constantly throw things out while we pollute the air inside as well as outside. Now, in order to improve the air quality inside buildings, we need to either dial down on the behaviors that cause the pollution of our indoor atmosphere, or implement some sort of method for purifying the air.

So what are the sources of daily indoor air contamination? Well lets start from the basement of the house and work our way upwards. First we have the still new concern - radon. Radon is an inert, undetectable, natural gas that enters through the basement foundation and builds up in houses/buildings. Over time it causes lung cancer in the lungs of the occupants. Unfortunately, plants cannot filter out radon as it is a radioactive gas and not a toxin. A specific system called "active soil depressurization" is required to remove radon from homes. To learn more about radon, contact Simon Air Quality. Now, there are pollutants present in basements that plants can filter out. For example, if your furnace is leaking CO or CO2, plants would be able to filter those emissions and supply oxygen at the same time. Also, if anyone smokes in the basement or if CO2 leaks into the basement from the garage, plants can be there to filter out the toxins.Now on the first floor there all kinds of possible contaminants in a common home: cigarette smoke, boilogical contaminants, dust, CO and CO2 from fireplace, humidity from stove, mold spores, VOCs from stove, VOCs from paints, solvents, cleaning supplies, hair products. The list goes on and on and on. We can see that indoor air pollution exists in different forms and comes from different sources all throughout the home. Here are the common, harmful chemical compunds found in our air:


The good news is that we have the means of ridding them from our indoor lives. As home owner, we can choose from a mechanical method or a more natural method. Mechanical systems like heat reclaiming ventilators improve air quality inside by replacing your stale air with fresh, outside air; in addition, it recovers/reclaims the heat from that inside air at the same time. Now if you don't want someone modifying your furnace and attaching a big box to air ducts next to your furnace, you can choose the more natural method. Instead of employing an expensive, energy consuming, mechanical device to only move air pollution from one place to another, maybe try a less expensive, more attractive, and more responsible method - by that of course I am referring to the almighty green wall. The top ten best plants at filtering indoor air can be found here: http://www.mygreenlife.com.au/categories/garden/actions/use-plants-to-remove-toxins/
Also, mygreenlife supplies an abundance of information that can help you live a better quality of life while respecting mother nature and being mindful of the environment you live in.
Here is a website where you can purchase green walls and interior plants of all strains, sizes, and styles: http://www.planterra.ca/


Quick Questions

Please respond to this post with your answers to the following questions. Also, leave a review on google!

1) Should Simon Air Quality start selling green walls?

2) Have you ever purchased a green wall before?

3) Would you prefer to have a green wall in your home or a heat reclaiming ventilator?

4) Are you worried about radon in your home?

5) Do you feel like you have poor indoor air quality in your home?



If you would like your house tested for radon, asbestos, mold, or VOCs, don't wait, call Simon Air Quality right away - 613-866-2092