5 Common Health Hazards Risking Your Family’s Health

WARNING! 

There a 5 common health hazards risking your family’s health and they are all found inside your air conditioner. 

Want to know who’s most at risk when an air conditioner is turned on?

There’s no shortage of reasons why you or a family member might be more likely than others to get sick but children, infants, elderly, cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, people currently suffering from an illness such as a respiratory condition, people with a low immunity, pregnant women and other certain health problems can also put you at higher risk. 

Common Health Hazard # 1

DUST, DIRT AND GRIME

Dust is so common in our environment people never bother to think about what is in it. There have been many studies to find out exactly what is in dust and their finding have been surprising.

A recent study at QUT in Queensland found the following compounds in dust:

Aluminium
Heavy Metals such as Lead, Mercury and Cadmium
Hydrocarbons
Construction debri such as stone, concrete and asbestos
Pesticides
Dust Mite Faeces
Paint particles
Toxic Cigarette residue such as arsenic

Dust collects on surfaces deep inside the air conditioner and does not decompose. It clogs the filters, coats the coils and will circulate in the air flowing out of the air conditioner. Dust will sit there until it is manually cleaned from the system.

Picture of a Dust Mite

Common Health Hazard # 2

ALLERGENS

Pollen, animal hair and dander (small skin flakes from animals)are all known allergens.

Up to 40% of children in Australia and New Zealand are affected by allergic disorders some time during life, with 20% having current symptoms. Allergic diseases have approximately double in western countries over the last 25 years. The most common allergic conditions in children are food allergies, eczema, asthma and hay fever (allergic rhinitis).

 

Although regular dusting of the home keeps allergen levels at a low level, allergens collected within the air conditioning system is circulated continuously and collected again.

These invisible allergens continue to be circulated until they are manually removed from the system by thoroughly cleaning.

Common Health Hazard #3

HUMAN BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS

As disgusting as it sounds…your house is filled with former bits of yourself.

The average human sheds around 30,000 – 40,000 skin cells per hour, which is close to 1 million cells per day and 40-100 strands of hair per day will fall from their scalp.  That is a lot of skin and hair!

Regular cleaning helps to control the build up around the home and on furniture.  However, nothing stops the build-up of skin and hair inside your air conditioner.

Over time these biological products will break down and decompose but in the meantime they are eaten by hungry dust mites.  Unfortunately, the more dust mites you have, the more dust mite faeces you have.  So you can see, this continues the nasty cycle of more dust and more allergens.

 

Common Health Hazard #4

BACTERIA

Bacteria in air conditioners has been a problem for years.  You may have heard of Legionnaires Disease, which was named after a group of people who were the first fatalities of the bacteria.  This may seem like a pretty dramatic example of what bacteria can do, but it can happen anywhere.

Humid conditions inside your air conditioner make for a perfect breeding ground for bacteria.

Any bacteria coughed or sneezed into the air will end up trapped inside the melting pot otherwise known as your air conditioner.

Even the Medical Experts warn about the health risk.

“The most common way you catch bacterial pneumonia is to breathe infected air droplets from someone who has pneumonia.  Another cause is a contaminated air conditioner.”

Who knows what type of bacterial build up is happening right now, do you even want to know?

 

Common Health Hazard # 5

MOULD AND FUNGI

Moulds and fungi are found in nature and are necessary for the breakdown of leaves, wood and other plant material.  They are not meant to be found in your house and definitely not in your air conditioner!

The presence of mould does not always mean that health problems will occur, however for some people the inhalation of the mould, fragments of the moulds or spores can lead to health problems or making their pre-existing health condition worse.

Another problem with mould is that many of them make “mytoxins”.  These are by-products from the mould which have been identified as being toxic to humans.  Toxins can slowly wear down the immune system and can lead to allergic or respiratory problems.  Prolonged exposure to mould and fungi can lead to neurological problems and even death in extreme cases.

It is obviously much better not to have these health hazards in your air conditioner in the first place.

HydroKleen has proven to be the best professional air conditioning cleaning company in Australia.  It is approved by the National Asthma Council Australia’s Sensitive Choice Program and they are represented Nationally and you can find your local technician by calling 1300 608 318.