Apartment dwellers often exposed to smoke, odors from neighbors

Apartment buildings can expose
residents to a wide range of
pollutants and toxins.

We often cover the indoor air quality issues in houses and homes in this blog, but today’s post is dedicated to another kind of home with additional air quality challenges: Apartment buildings.

The nature of an apartment building is that there are many people living in close proximity, including children, seniors and people from a wide range of backgrounds.

These differences in cultures, ages and habits can also contribute to different indoor air quality concerns, including

• Smoke
• Food odors
• Pesticide use
• Fumes and particles from renovation work being done
• And more

 In a recent survey of American apartment dwellers, more than a third of non-smoking residents said they detected secondhand smoke in the building’s public space or within their own apartments.

The survey included 323 nationally representative respondents, who were asked about their building's smoking restrictions; family composition; where they smelled secondhand smoke and how often.

Among those who reported smelling secondhand smoke, 38 percent said it happened weekly and 12 percent said they noticed the smell daily.

The exposure becomes a concern when it can affect children and other vulnerable groups, experts say.

Strong food odors may be another IAQ issue, albeit often a minor irritation as opposed to a health hazard.

A much bigger concern is a person’ use of pesticides in a neighboring apartment, which may enter other apartments through ventilation vents, windows, underneath doors etc.

Source: HealthDay News

Improve indoor air quality in apartments

With source control and portable air purifiers, apartment residents can make a huge difference in the quality of the air they are breathing.

AllerAir’s air purifiers for the home and office offer a multistage filtration system with the most efficient and long-lasting filters that can remove the widest range of indoor air pollutants.

The activated carbon and HEPA filter combination can remove harmful chemicals, gases, fumes, odors, particles, dust and biological particles, and an optional UV lamp can help neutralize contaminants such as viruses, bacteria and molds.

The 5000 Exec and the AirMedic Exec are examples of popular air purifiers for apartments.

Read on to see what others are saying about AllerAir:

“We live in an older apartment building where the activities of our neighbors seep through our walls. One weekend 6 apartments had to evacuate because of toxic fumes from another apartment's renovation. We were able to return to our apartment within a few days because we could detox it quickly using our AllerAir system. Our neighborhood also has a skunk problem, and when the odor starts to get in the house we turn our unit up to turbo setting and it removes the odor very quickly. At other times, we simply leave the unit on low, and the sound is almost unnoticeable. ... We recommend the AllerAir air purifier wholeheartedly.”
Kathleen Jordan

For smoke and secondhand smoke exposure, AllerAir has developed air purifiers for tobacco smoke that feature deep carbon beds, medical-grade HEPA filters and special tar-trapping pre-filters that can handle the sticky substances and toxins inherent in tobacco smoke.

Contact AllerAir for more information and options.