Talking Detox: All I Need is the Air That I Breathe

You can live about 3 minutes without air.

Air... (Oxygen, O²)... is pretty darn essential to life. Few people have survived having air cut off for more than 3 minutes. Breathing is usually an involuntary process, until it's cut off.

When we began closely examining our home environment, looking for things that we could do to identify and fix environmental problems in our home, we became aware for the first time of what was in the air we were breathing at home. Home seems like a safe place to be and yet as we looked at the facts my eyes were open to things I had not previously considered.

The EPA says that indoor air quality is 10 to 100 times worse than outdoor air quality. An article in the latest issue of Poplular Science magazine (November 2009) highlights dozens of sources of toxins in our homes that bombard us every day, it points out that the odds of inhaling concentrated toxins are 1,000 times greater indoors than outdoors.

Energy costs have led us to seal up any cracks in our homes and offices. Since the first energy crisis in the 1970's we have sealed our homes and offices tighter and tighter, keeping doors and windows tightly closed and rarely opening them, all to keep the warm air in and the cold air out in the winter or the cool air in and the warm air out in the summer. Typically there are two times of the year when we open up and air-out our homes usually for a few weeks in the Spring or Fall. In the process we've sealed in a concentration of toxic soup.

Toxins, heavy metals, man-made chemicals, mold, mildew, viruses and bacteria have become particulates or are attached to particulates floating in the air. Particulates are tiny microscopic particles of pollen, dust, mold, smoke and things that would make you shudder if you saw them under a microscope.

If you've ever noticed a sunbeam through a window in the early morning or late afternoon as it highlights those particulates in the air... you can "see" what you're breathing. If you think about it, its not just that way where the sun-beam is, its that way right in front of your face.

From the moment you wake up in the morning you're exposed to toxic or potentially toxic chemicals... chlorine in the shower water, chemicals in the soap or shampoo, bacteria on a razor, chemicals in the towel from the dryer sheet, soaps and fabric softeners used to wash the towel and make it smell so good. Lotions, hair spray, toothpaste, deoderant, anti-persperant and the clothes that were washed the same as the towel or may have been exposed to toxic dry-cleaning chemicals.

Then there's the kitchen, the scratched teflon frypan, the coffee maker, the plastic containers you stored the left-overs in, that new counter-top and cabinetry you had installed a couple of years ago... all giving off toxins.

Out in the car for your commute to the office, a safe sanctuary for travel, a cocoon for thought or listening to a CD or radio show. But that film that has to be cleaned off the inside of the windows when you wash the car... that's toxic plastic emissions from the dash, carpeting and upholstery or "new car" smell you had sprayed in at the last trip through the car wash.

Finally at the office, one or more people have come to work sick. Sneezing, coughing, touching surfaces in the break area, coffee pots, faucet handles, vending machines... you name it.

You've probably thought of several other things I didn't mention and if you carry this on through the rest of your typical day, you can probably think of hundreds of places you come into contact with man-made chemicals, bacteria, potential viruses, mold, mildew, exhaust, cigarette smoke, and the list goes on and on.

We breathe in and out all day long, rarely thinking about it unless something happens to restrict the flow or an illness that makes it difficult or uncomfortable to breathe.

Is there anything that can be done? Yes! You have a significant amount of control over the toxins in your home, in your car and even at the office.

The first step is to get rid of the particulates in the air. Most people think of air filter's, and a good hepa-filter on your forced air unit is essential... but filters don't get everything because you can't buy a big enough fan to circulate ALL of your air through the filter.

The best solution we've found is what is known as an Air Purifier. An air purifier sends to solution to the polution, just like mother nature, it does not require that you move the dirty air through it for it to do it's job. One air purifier in particular uses a technology developed in conjunction with NASA to kill pathogens by replicating Earth's natural processes that keep air clean outdoors. It was developed to keep the air pure in the International Space Station and most specifically to keep plants in the Space Station's "Green-House" alive and healthy.

One company has taken that technology and made it available to anyone for use in their home, office and automobile. It's been given the trade-name ActivePure and awarded the "Space Certified" award from NASA. The company that produces these air purifiers is EcoQuest, a U.S. based company that has placed more than 6 million air purifiers in homes and offices in the last 20 years.

Once I experienced the nearly instantaneous improvement in our own home air quality, I knew it was special. Scientific studies prove that not only does the technology completely eliminate particulates from the air, it also KILLS mold, mildew, bacteria and viruses... killing them not only in the air, but on surfaces through out your home... doorknobs, counter-tops, faucet handles, and other surfaces you don't think about, like the edges of doors.

And, yes, in the interest of full disclosure... I eventually became a dealer of the EcoQuest products after using them for several years. EcoQuest's air purifiers are in use in the Pentagon, the Whitehouse fitness center, the ground-zero museum, the liberty bell museum, and many Department of Defense buildings. They are also of the highest quality... I'm often reminded of the quote most people attribute to John Ruskin that you'll find on the wall of Baskin-Robbins ice-cream parlors: "There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person's lawful prey."