Babies! (3rd Hand Smoke and Other Hazards)
Watching the news a few weeks back I heard a report on 3rd hand smoke! I thought to myself what is 3rd hand smoke. The report went on to say/explain that it is the residue that is left in clothing, furniture, on the walls, in carpets etc. They farther when on to say that infants were the once at most risk for it. Their lungs are not yet strong enough to fight off the effects of 3rd hand smoke.
Another interesting fact is that it does not dissipate it just lays there waiting to be disturbed. Babies crawling across a carpet in a home were there has been a smoker is getting a lung full of smoke by products. Yes, you can shampoo the carpet but as anyone who has ever had a carpet removed/replaced knows the cleaning is only on the surface.
I really advise families with young children to think green when considering a home purchase. Remember green is more than energy efficient; it has a lot to do with indoor air quality also. That is a very important variable when crawling babies are involved. Glues and adhesive used to secure carpet and other floorings and the floorings themselves can give off gases that may be concentrated at floor level where your baby is crawling. If you have a tight home, while it may be very energy efficient it also may have very polluted air.
I often wonder if the increase in respiratory illness is not in a big way contributable to the air in our homes! We have worked very hard to make them tight and energy efficient. This has resulted in less outside air filtering its way inside which can result in the air inside the home being more polluted then the outside air. Some new construction homes will draw outside air into the HVAC system to help keep the inside air fresh.
Energy efficient is good, but green is better. Thinking of buying a home? Talk to an EcoBrokerâ and make an informed decision. 210-316-4555
Next week more on indoor air quality; I'll post on Radon gas!