How to improve ventilation to bring fresh air
into your home

• What causes air pollution in your home?

○ What kind of pollutants lurk at home?
○ Why good indoor air quality is essential for your health

• What is ventilation?

○ Mechanical ventilation
○ Natural ventilation

• How to improve ventilation

○ Fans
○ Air cleaners
○ Home systems
○ Open doors and windows

• The positive impact of ventilation
• nanoe™ X lets you enjoy clean air

What’s often overlooked at home?
It’s the indoor air quality. It can be so polluted that it can have a serious impact on your health.
But how does it get so polluted in the first place? And what can you do about it?

There are a number of causes of indoor air pollution. These include cleaning products, cosmetics, paints, and varnishes that release volatile organic compounds^*1; radon, a natural radioactive gas; asbestos, an old construction material that is a carcinogen^*2; mould; bacteria; dust; pollen; and even your beloved furry pets.^*3

We’re spending more and more time at home.That’s especially been the case since the pandemic, when more of us began working remotely. And if you’re spending most of your time in a polluted environment, it has the potential to have a serious impact on your health. Health conditions can range from watery eyes or a runny nose through to heart disease and cancer – depending on the types of pollutants present in your home environment.^*4 That’s why it’s essential to ensure that your home has good indoor air quality. The good news is that something as simple as ventilation can help.

^*1 https://air.plumelabs.com/learn/en/voc
^*2 https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances/asbestos/asbestos-fact-sheet
^*3 https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/biological-pollutants-impact-indoor-air-quality
^*4 https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-improve-air-quality-at-home#pollutants

Ventilation simply means keeping the air flowing in your home by bringing in fresh outdoor air. Ventilation can be an effective way to reduce or eliminate the pollutants floating in the air indoors.^*5 The best part is that using natural ventilation is completely free, making it a very accessible solution. It’s important to keep in mind that ventilation is only as effective as the quality of the air outside. If the air outside your home is heavily polluted, then it might not be the best option for you. But considering the fact that indoor air can be up to 100 times more polluted than outdoor air,^*6 bringing in fresh air is most likely going to help rather than harm. Ventilation isn’t a perfect solution though. It can’t clear the air of all pollutants. And it can’t get rid of pollutants that stick to surfaces. To create the most effective solution, combine ventilation with another form of air purification such as nanoe™ X, which can inhibit up to 99% of pollutants like bacteria* that live on surfaces as well as in the air. Bearing that in mind, let’s take a look at a couple of types of ventilation.

*Effects of hydroxyl radicals contained in water
https://www.panasonic.com/global/hvac/nanoe/all/verification/evidence.html

Mechanical ventilation systems use ducts and fans to circulate fresh air from outside instead of just relying on natural ventilation.^*7 It’s important to keep the air ducts and filters clean since they can gather dust and other pollutants, which will make the problem worse.

This is where you ventilate the home without any mechanical assistance. By using natural forces such as wind and thermal buoyancy, old polluted air is circulated out and fresh, clean air is brought in.^*8 Make sure that the outside air doesn’t contain a lot of pollen; otherwise it’ll increase allergic reactions in people who are susceptible.

^*5 https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/improving-indoor-air-quality
^*6 https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-improve-air-quality-at-home
^*7 https://www.energystar.gov/ia/new_homes/features/MechVent_062906.pdf
^*8 https://greenhome.osu.edu/natural-ventilation

There are a number of ways, both natural and mechanical, to improve ventilation at home – and reduce the presence of harmful contaminants.

As you know, fans help circulate the air around the home. If you combine using a fan with natural ventilation, you can move some pollutants (such as virus particles)^*9 out of the home. Other types of fans such as exhaust fans (which you might have in your bathroom or kitchen) suck in the air from a room and release it outside.

Air cleaners are devices that use fans and filters to circulate and clean the air. They don’t always remove all pollutants such as viruses or bacteria – it really depends on the model of your device.

There are mechanical room ventilation systems that you can install in your home to help circulate the air. For example, HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilation) brings in fresh air and circulates out stagnant air – and warms up your home in the process by transferring heat from the stagnant air to the fresh air as it passes through the system.ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilation) does the same, but also transfers humidity from the stagnant air to the fresh air, so you can heat your home without drying out the air.^*10

This simple method of natural ventilation is what you’ll be most familiar with. By opening doors and windows, you’re allowing fresh air to move through the home, and old, stagnant, polluted air to move out.

^*9 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/improving-ventilation-home.html
^*10 https://www.drhvac.ca/blog/difference-between-hrv-and-erv-systems/

Your health is precious.By looking after the indoor air quality of your home, you’ll be ensuring that the place you spend the most time in is contributing to your wellbeing. Something as simple as ventilation can improve your home’s air quality, boosting your wellbeing and making a positive impact on your life.

But as you’re aware, ventilation does have its limitations. While it can do a lot of good, it can’t clear the air of all pollutants – especially if you have a number of different sources inside your home. And outside air can be polluted too, not to mention the times of year when there’s an abundance of pollen floating around. That’s why it’s a good idea to combine ventilation with technology like nanoe™ X. nanoe™ X cleans the air of odours, certain bacteria and viruses, moulds, allergens, pollen, PM2.5, and more. But it doesn’t just clean the air – it inhibits up to 99% of pollutants like bacteria and viruses from surfaces too. Making your home the safe haven it’s meant to be.
> How nanoe™ X works

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