Regardless of what season it is, people tend to spend a huge amount of time indoors – in the USA it is estimated that the population spend approximately 90 per cent of their time inside. Despite this fact, concerns about air quality have largely focused on the outdoors, effectively ignoring what people breathe in when they sit at their workstations or lie in bed at night.
The reality is that the air inside is two to five times more polluted than the air outside. This is due to the chemicals that are used in buildings and furniture. Low quality air can impact hugely on the health of individuals and often the extent of the damage is not apparent until illnesses become manifest. While conditions like asthma and allergies are triggered by a number of factors, they are often related to the quality of indoor air.
One of the big reasons for focusing on how to improve indoor air pollution is that the air indoors, is much easier to control than the air outdoors. Simple changes like trying to eliminate VOCs indoors can make a huge impact to the users of a space. Sources of VOCs include many household products like wood preservatives, aerosol sprays and disinfectants – all of which can easily be removed from the indoor environment. When designing and constructing buildings, there are many factors that can be considered to try and reduce the amount of air pollution in a building for a more lasting impact.
While all surfaces and products are relevant, flooring is integral to creating a healthier living and workspace. Wood flooring company Mafi produces natural timber floors. The integration of Mafi timber floors in any work or domestic environment would set a strong foundation for a healthy space. Mafi is distributed in Australasia by Woodos, a company that has showrooms in Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore.
Find out more about the effects of indoor air quality on health at home and work by downloading this free white paper.
