Have you ever thought about what is really polluting your home environment? Little ones bring home all those nasty things they touch and spread them everywhere. Garbage cans are dirty. The smell of leftover spicy food can linger for days. And who knows what surprises our pets bring in with them.

And that's not all that's in our air and on our surfaces. Consider pollen, dust mite residue, chemicals from cleaning compounds, carpets, construction materials, and mold spores which circulate through the air we breathe. The concentration of these increases as we keep our indoor spaces tightly sealed to conserve energy. In fact, the EPA has warned of the increasing health risk posed by indoor air pollution as buildings become more energy efficient.

Outdoor air is continually renewed by natural processes that are not found indoors. Thunderstorms, sunlight, and lightening produce ions that degrade chemical pollutants, control molds and algae and remove dust particles from the air. Without these natural processes going on indoors, how can we breath healthy air as we spend increasingly more time in tightly sealed homes? Here are seven things you can do to improve your indoor air quality.

1. Control Moisture
Repair leaky roofs and plumbing, caulk around tubs and showers, seal windows and doors that let in moisture when it rains and de-humidify damp basements. Moist areas grow mold which can smell bad, trigger allergy problems and can result in costly repairs. Some types of mold can even be deadly. See www.epa.gov/mold

2. Control Radon
Radon is an odorless gas that can seep into homes through cracks in the basement and foundation. Radon test kits are inexpensive and can be purchased online or at home- improvement stores. Sealing cracks in the basement floor and walls is a good start, but if you have radon you may need to have a radon mitigation system installed by a radon specialist. www.epa.gov/radon

3. Ventilate
Houses once ventilated naturally because they were not tightly sealed. Not anymore! Many newer HVAC systems can allow a limited mix of fresh air into the system when the fan is running. Bathroom fans and stove exhaust fans that vent to the outside can remove moisture as well as cooking odors and chemical vapors. Opening windows for brief periods of time even during the winter months can significantly improve indoor air quality.

4. Use HEPA Filtration
These high efficiency dust filters are used in most newer vacuum cleaners. Older vacuums recycle a good portion of the dust from the floors and carpets back into the air. Use HEPA filters in your furnace and AC as well. Whatever you use, replace your filters at regular intervals.

5. Use Household Chemicals With Care
Concerns over MRSA, new viruses, e-coli and salmonella are exploited by the household cleaner industry. What most people don't realize is that most cleaners leave chemical residues which gets on food preparation surfaces and some even gets into the air. Minute amounts we breath or ingest are not considered dangerous, but no one can account for what may result from low levels of exposure over a lifetime. Instead of using powerful germicides, try cleaning with bio-degradable cleaners or micro-fiber cloths instead.

Perhaps even more dangerous are products such as paints, paint strippers, solvents and glues that contain volatile organic chemicals. When using these, always ventilate the house during and after use. Remember that these chemicals soak into whatever you are using them on and continue to give off voc's for a long time after. Avoid storing these for a long period of time by only buying the amount you need for the immediate job. For more information, see www.epa.gov/iaq

6. Don't Smoke Indoors
Benzene is a known carcinogen. One of the main sources of this in indoor air is tobacco smoke. Of course, tobacco smoke contains many more compounds that affect health and the effects of second-hand smoke are well documented. For more information, see www.epa.gov/smokefree

7. Use Air Purification Units
Not all people need air purifiers, but many with asthma, allergies and COPD may benefit from them. People living with indoor air that's contaminated with dust or tobacco smoke can also benefit from some units. Air purifies use various technologies to remove dust and contaminants. Some use HEPA filters to clean the air that is driven through them by a fan. Others collect particles from the air with electrically charged plates. A few high- tech units reproduce the natural outdoor processes and are effective at removing odors and pollutants at the source and also kill bacteria and viruses on surfaces. Beware of units that only produce high concentrations of ozone. For high quality indoor air purification products, visit ecobusiness.com/ier/products

The old saying "You are what you eat" is no longer sufficient for our day. We are also what we drink and breath. It's worth our attention to some simple steps to keep our indoor environments clean. The next time you sit in your favorite easy chair and take a deep breath, make sure it's clean air you're breathing.

Information provided by ecobusiness.com/ier/products. Visit them online or at 315-982-1372. Copyright 2011.