In this article, published in ISSA’s Cleaning & Maintenance Management Magazine, Dr. John McKeon discusses what National Cleaning Week means to ASL and how cleaning professionals can contribute to healthier indoor environments.
Asthma and allergies have been increasing since the early 1980s and now more than 25 million Americans are affected by asthma and over 50 million by allergies every single year and these numbers are predicted rise. The most common indoor allergy triggers are mold spores, dust mites, and pet dander. Creating a healthier indoor environment is key to the health outcomes not just those impacted by asthma and allergies, but any occupant of a building. The main ways to achieve a healthier environment is through cleaning the air, cleaning the surfaces and through proper ventilation.
“To improve indoor air quality (IAQ) and to reduce triggers of asthma and allergies, it is very important to have a cleaning strategy for indoor spaces. It is of course important to consider surfaces such as floors, tables, and shelves in their capacity to gather dust and pet dander. But it is just as important to consider the air that we breathe and to make sure that when people look at cleaning surfaces and contents they also consider what they can do to make their indoor air cleaner,” said Dr. John McKeon. “We are always working to get the message out that a healthier indoor environment is better for everyone, and particularly those with asthma and allergies.”
Using certified asthma & allergy friendly® products in your home is an easy, reliable way of taking control of your indoor air and helping prevent against potential health effects. Certification by the asthma and allergy friendly® Certification Program means that very strict scientific tests are carried out on the product. Many of these tests are unique to the asthma & allergy friendly® certification and manufacturers voluntarily submit their products for these independent tests to validate the claims they wish to make.
Air Cleaners, vacuum cleaners, HVAC/furnace filters and cleaning products are just a few of the wide range of household products and building materials that are CERTIFIED asthma & allergy friendly®.
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