Did you know that the quality of your indoor air may be worse than the air outside your home – much worse, in fact?
Many people are surprised to learn this, but according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the level of indoor air pollution in your home can be 2 to 5x times higher than outside. And some of the pollutants you breathe indoors can be as much as 100xmore concentrated.
You’ve heard about the hazards of dirty outdoor air… Well, indoor air pollution can be an even greater threat to your health.
Indoor air is often more contaminated, and the contaminants tend to be more concentrated – as much as 100x more concentrated. Plus, most people spend at least 90% of their time indoors.
Take a look at the air-intake vent in your home. Do you notice a buildup of dust and a greasy, dirty film? That’s just part of what you are breathing in…
It’s what you can’t see that’s even worse for your health. Most contaminants – especially the more hazardous ones – are so small you can’t see them with your eyes.
And that’s what misleads people into thinking nothing is wrong with their indoor air… If they notice an odor, rather than cleaning their air, many people simply cover it up with toxic sprays and synthetic scented plugins that only add to the indoor air pollution problem.
Is Indoor Air Pollution Making You and Your Family Sick?
Indoor air pollution is made up of solid and liquid particles, called particulate matter, that are suspended in the air. These suspended particles can consist of dust, metals, smoke, liquid droplets, chemicals and pollen.
Breathing in particulate matter can make you feel lousy. It’s not unusual to experience respiratory or eye issues, shortness of breath, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, memory and mood problems – and even poor sleep.
And those are just the first signs… Particulate matter can harm your lungs, heart and brain, and it may be years before you realize it is happening.
More than 1,500 substances may be found in the typical American home, and many emit toxic fumes into the air. Some are known or suspected carcinogens. Others can potentially harm your thyroid, IQ, memory and fertility.
In general, the smaller the particle size, the greater the risk to your health.
Particles 10 micrometers (or microns) in diameter or smaller, such as mold, metals, chemicals and pollen can be inhaled, penetrate tissue and lodge deep inside your lungs. From there, they can enter your bloodstream and damage your heart and other organs.
Any of the following sources of indoor air pollution may be in your home right now, contributing to contaminated indoor air:
- Formaldehyde from paint, bookshelves, cabinets, beds, plastics, cosmetics, fabrics, pillows, and drapes
- PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, used to make products nonstick, waterproof, and heat- or stain-resistant.
- Flame-retardant chemicals from furniture, carpeting, and mattresses
- VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, that vaporize into the air from paint, pesticides, building and hobby materials, cleaners, and cabinetry
- Lead from old paint (opening an old painted window can release lead into your air)
- Airborne bacteria and viruses from humans, pets, moist surfaces and ventilation systems
- Fragrances and other chemicals from air fresheners, plug-ins, candles and cleaning and laundry supplies
- Mold, mildew, and other pollutants from faulty plumbing, damp carpeting, and leaky foundations and roofs
- Dander and allergens from pets, dust mites and cockroaches
- Smoke, including second- and third-hand tobacco smoke
- Emissions from oil, gas, kerosene, coal and wood burning
The bottom line is… if you have any of these sources of toxic substances in your home, they are most likely in your air and dust. All ready for you to breathe in…
The ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Your Bloodstream and in the Air You’re Breathing
There’s a group of man-made chemicals developed in the 1930s that were thought to contaminate just our water and food.
Now we know they are also found in indoor air – and at alarming levels.
Known as “forever chemicals,” PFAS – short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – are a group of more than 9,000 synthetic chemicals that make products waterproof, heat-resistant, nonstick or stain-resistant.
The most known PFAS are PFOA and PFOS. They are so widespread; it’s estimated that at least 98% of the population has detectable levels of PFOA in their bloodstream.
PFOA and PFOS are especially hazardous because they don’t break down in your body or the environment. That’s why they’re called “forever chemicals.”
A recent study tested the indoor air at 20 different sites – inside homes, classrooms and stores. Forever chemicals were found in 17 of the 20 locations.
Another study has found a link between high levels of PFAS in the air and in human blood, confirming the suspicion that the biggest source of these chemicals is indoor air.
Once inhaled, PFAS accumulate in your body. They’re linked to weight gain, weakened immune systems, high cholesterol and uric acid levels, birth defects, hormone disruption, liver disease, as well as cancers.
If you share your home with pets or small children, know that they are affected even more than you because of their smaller body size.
So, where do these chemicals come from?
These airborne contaminants break from PFAS-treated products, like carpeting, upholstery, floor wax, paper and cardboard food packaging (think: pizza boxes), cosmetics, treated clothing and shoes, and nonstick pans. Simply cooking with a nonstick pan can release PFAS into your indoor air.
Once PFAS chemicals break off, they attach to dust or float through the indoor air until they settle or you or a family member breathe them in.
A Day in the Life of Living with PFAS
A Harvard student, Elsie Sunderland, concerned about the prevalence of forever chemicals in her everyday life on campus, took on a project that she named a “Day in the Life of a Harvard Student.”
From the time she woke up, until the time she went to sleep, she took note of everything that contained PFAS.
Here is what Elsie found as she went about her day…
- 8:00 A.M. – Woke up and walked around on a carpet
- 8:30 A.M. – Got ready using personal care products and makeup
- 9:00 A.M. – Cooked breakfast using a nonstick frying pan
- 9:15 A.M. – Threw on her waterproof rain jacket to head out to class
- 10:00 A.M. – Sat in upholstered chairs in the class, office and library
- 12:00 P.M. – Grabbed takeout in a compostable container
- 6:00 P.M. – Ate dinner consisting of food grown with commercial compost or biosolids for fertilizer
- 10:30 P.M. – Showered with PFAS-containing shampoo and flossed her teeth with easy-glide floss
When Elsie added up all the PFAS-containing items – and their concentrations of chemicals – she was shocked. What may have surprised her even more was many of these items claim to be environmentally friendly, such as compostable food containers.
So, if you don’t live on a college campus, what can you do to tackle your dirty indoor air?
HEPA Air Filters Capture Contaminated Dust on the International Space Station – Why Not Your Home, Too?
It turns out that the largest single structure ever built in space, the International Space Station (ISS), has had a dust problem over its many years of use.
Unlike Earth, where particles settle on furniture and other household items, dust aboard the ISS floats through the air. Much like the dust found in the average U.S. home, it contains contaminants, including VOCs and forever chemicals.
How has the crew on the ISS tackled this contaminated floating dust problem?
It has relied on HEPA air filters to capture the dust and debris.
So, what is a HEPA air filter?
Short for High-Efficiency Particulate Air, a HEPA air filter or purifier is one of the most effective air filters due to its ability to filter out tiny particles from the air.
HEPA filters eliminate 99.9% of particles from the air in your home, including dust, dander, pollen and other airborne particles that can carry PFAS and other contaminants.
Be aware that just because an air purifier may carry the name “HEPA” doesn’t mean it is true HEPA. The word has become a generic term to describe high-efficiency filters.
To meet the requirements for a true HEPA air purifier, it must capture 99.97% of particles with a size of 0.3 microns or above.
Four-Stage Purification for Indoor Air You Can Trust
Introducing the only air purifier with both active and passive air purification technologies, our True HEPA Air Purifier with ODOGard® specializes in eliminating odors caused by mold, bacteria, and other airborne contaminants.
Fortified with a true HEPA filter, this advanced air purifier traps 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 microns in your room’s air, including dust, dander, pollen and other airborne particles that can carry PFAS and VOCs.
In addition to the true HEPA filter and ODOGard technology, our unit also has a UV lamp for an added photocatalytic effect. UV light has been shown in several studies to effectively decompose or break down PFAS as well as VOCs.
While UV light or energy cannot destroy VOCs and PFAS directly, it drives a chemical reaction – known as photocatalytic oxidation – that does.
In a comparison study with air purifiers utilizing carbon filter technology, the 4-stage purification of the True HEPA Air Purifier with ODOGard®…
- Reduced 140% more VOCs than carbon filters.
- Was able to keep VOC levels near zero, while carbon filters were unable to sustain their performance over the 48-hour test period.
- Excelled at helping to reduce particle counts that you might normally breathe in.
- Prevented mold in an environment starting with no detectable levels.
As seen below, the multi-layer design of the HEPA filter traps particles and then the ODOGard neutralizes odor-causing nitrogen and sulfur-containing compounds in the air to remove odors.
The True HEPA Air Purifier with ODOGard® Includes a timer that you can set for 2, 4 and 8 hours of operation. The unit stops automatically when the time has elapsed.
ODOGard®- A Real Gamechanger in Odor Molecule Elimination Technology
There are three traditional ways to manage odors:
- Cover them up with scents which can add new VOCs into the room
- Detain them with a carbon filter, but this method doesn’t permanently bond them
- Encapsulate them with other chemicals, but the encapsulation fades with time
The manufacturer of our True HEPA Air Purifier with ODOGard®, unsatisfied with these three limited choices, partnered with odor control scientists to find a new way to reduce tough odors.
Instead of just covering up odors with fragrance or masking agents, the True HEPA Air Purifier with ODOGard® eliminates odor molecules – the source of problematic odors.
ODOGard® is a patented formula that captures and destroys odor molecules. By bonding to the odor molecule itself, it changes the molecular structure, eliminating the odor forever as if it was never there.
Different from any other technology on the market today, ODOGard works immediately upon meeting odor molecules so they no longer smell bad – and keeps working for the next 24 hours and beyond.
The best news? Even the toughest odor molecules – like the nitrogen and sulfur found in urine and feces – cannot escape ODOGard.
Could you imagine walking into a nursing home that had fresh, clean-smelling air?
Notorious for harboring unpleasant odors, a nursing home field tested the True HEPA Air Purifier with ODOGard®. Not only did the unit quickly – and permanently – remove all unwanted odors, but it also reduced both VOCs and particulate matter by 99.9%.
Get the Clean, Fresh-Smelling Air You and Your Family Deserve with the True HEPA Air Purifier with ODOGard®
Let’s face it. Our indoor air isn’t as clean as it once was.
With the thousands of chemical compounds now used in the manufacture of our homes, household furnishings and clothing, as well as electronics and everyday items like takeout food containers, you and your family (pets included) are no longer breathing in clean air inside your home.
The True HEPA Air Purifier with ODOGard® is the solution you can trust to change all that.
By eliminating odors caused by mold, bacteria, and other airborne contaminants, and trapping 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 microns in your room’s air, including dust, dander, pollen and other airborne particles that can carry PFAS and VOCs, clean and fresh-smelling air can be yours again – air you can trust around-the-clock for yourself and your loved ones.
I think you can agree… It’s a small price to pay for peace of mind – and your health.
Transform the air in your home today and order the True HEPA Air Purifier with ODOGard®.