Are Your Lungs the Only Purifier You Own?

Of the 80,000 chemical compounds used in commercial cleaning products, only half of 1 percent has been tested for cancer-causing ingredients. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that we are exposed to air pollutants two to five times more indoors than outdoors. These pollutants are concentrated when we use them indoors with little ventilation.

Children are especially vulnerable to indoor air pollutants because of their size and age. If there is a single ingredient in any cleaning product that will cause an asthma attack, it would be a fragrance; there are a lot of children with asthma. These common products are not required by law to list their ingredients even though some might contain chemicals that harm you and the environment. Toxic substances found in the home include air fresheners, cleaning products, pesticides, new furniture and carpets, paints, and clothing.

The generalized lack of public understanding of the dangers of toxicity from these everyday materials extends the period of exposure, leading to further injury. Denial of the toxic dangers can lead to permanent injury. Public awareness of sick house syndrome and the dangers of toxicity from construction materials are vital to eliminate these aggravating factors and to prevent illness. People vary in susceptibility and one person developing sick building syndrome or multiple chemical sensitivity is a beacon of warning to everyone else who shares the same environment.

Asthma, respiratory problems, behavioral changes, and fatigue are only a few manifestations of exposure to various indoor air pollutants. When a building is contaminated with everyday toxic materials which have rendered inhabitants ill, the building is referred to as a sick building. The inhabitants have sick building syndrome.

In our homes, the leading cause of indoor air pollution is the dishwasher. Researchers at the EPA and the University of Texas documented through 30 experiments that the super-heated water in dishwashers can cause chloroform, radioactive radon and other pollutants to become airbo
e in your home. Dishwashers vent about six liters of air per minute into your home during the wash cycle. That means they continuously release water-bo
e toxins into your air.