Mod 8 Lab

Abstract

Course name Instructor’s name Assignment due date Module 8 Lab Table I: Sustainable Household Inventory Living Rm. Dining Rm. Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom Laundry Rm. Dimensions 16 by 20 feet 14 by 16 feet 10 by 12 feet 5 by 8 feet 12 by 14 feet 8 by 10 feet Main Features Rug, coffee table, art, armchair, sofas, TV, bookshelf Dining table and chairs, sideboard, dishes and silverware Cabinets, kitchen stand, sinks, gas stove, refrigerator, pots, pans, silverware Toilet, bathtub, sink, shower, mirrors, soap dispenser, toilet paper, towels Bed, mattress, dresser, closet, desk and chair, sheets, pillows, bedspread, blankets Washing machine, dryer, bleach, ironing board, iron, detergents, hangers, towels Air Circulation Mechanical air circulation using ducts, doors and windows Room layout and proximity to the living room Ventilation system removes heat and emissions Vents, open window in laundry room Natural and mechanical systems, part of the house HVAC system An exhaust fan facilitates air circulation Windows Present 2 2 1 1 2 1 Items That Could Be Unhealthy (list them!) Rug, cleaning products, mold, dust mites, particulate matter Furniture with flame retardants, dust buildup, food and tableware Cooking stove, deep-flying appliances, cleaning products, mold, air pollution from cooking, VOCs Bathing soaps, detergents, air freshener, dust, cleaning products Accumulated dust, mold, chemicals from cleaning products, air fresheners, emissions from beddings Mold, excess moisture, laundry detergents, dust, softeners Lab Questions Least Healthy Rooms Determining the air quality in my home is the first step in developing a healthy sustainable action. My kitchen is one of the least healthy rooms as a result of air pollution from cooking and cleaning. Emissions from cooking affects air quality and exposure could have significant health effects on the long-term. Additionally, the cleaning products I use have chemicals whose exposure to the skin and body has the potential to cause health risk. Using my gas stove increases exposure to a variety of harmful compounds including nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide that leads to poor air quality in the kitchen. Emissions from frying and deep frying lead to the buildup of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that further reduces the quality of air in my kitchen (Goldstein et al., 2020). The second least healthy room in my home is the bathroom since it consists of compounds that have the potential to cause short-term and long-term health risks. In particular, high moisture levels in my bathroom could lead to mold and mildew that release harmful spores in the air. A major cause of health concerns in my bathroom is the use of cleaning products such as soaps, air fresheners, detergents, bleach, and deodorants that lower the quality of air in my home. The two rooms are the major focus in the sustainable action plan since they have the greatest health risk levels in my home. Making Rooms Healthier Using cooking methods that amount to lower levels of air pollution is one of the changes I would make in my kitchen. Cooking is the major cause of health risks in the room and it is the focus of my sustainability action for my home. Opting for baking and microwaving would reduce the emissions from cooking activities such as frying and deep frying. The choice of pots and pans determine the exposure to harmful chemicals when preparing and consuming food. I could replace my nonstick pans with aluminum and iron options to minimize the exposure resulting from compounds that would normally stick on pans (Goldstein et al., 2020). Checking labels on cleaning labels would ensure that I use the products that have the least levels of exposure to harmful compounds. Since cooking and cleaning activities are bound to affect air quality in my kitchen, I would reduce exposure by limiting the time other people and myself spend in the room. Changes in my bathroom include ensuring proper ventilation by opening windows and using a ceiling fan. A well ventilated bathroom poses lower risks of exposure to mold and mildew that are a cause of health risks in the bathroom. A moisture control practice that lowers the humidity and moisture levels would reduce the level of indoor pollution in the bathroom. I would check the cleaning products I use in my bathroom to ensure I choose varieties that have the least risk levels of exposure to air pollution and harmful compounds. Overall Concerns One of the health concerns I intend to address right away is the choice of cleaning products I use in my home. I realized that I had not considered how cleaning had affected air quality in my home and the potential health effects from the product choices. While cleaning and dusting my home regularly removes pollutants and molds, the agents I use could cause considerable health risks. Household products contribute to a significant amount of indoor air pollution and pause health risks that I need to address for my home (Hamers, 2018). Additionally, I intend to check all the products in my bathroom and replace them with organic options that result to fewer health risks. While the ventilation in my home is generally adequate, I plan to rely more on natural ventilation by opening doors and windows to complement the HVAC system. I could reduce indoor air pollution significantly by ensuring there is adequate ventilation in all the rooms in my home. Cookware and food containers have the potential to pose health risks as a result of the chemicals I could ingest in my home. My plan is to replace nonstick cookware with cast iron pots and avoid using any form of plastic food container (Hamers, 2018). I intend to minimize the use of candles in any room in my home to avoid exposure to harmful emissions that could pose health risks to occupants. Indoor pollution contributes to a significant amount of the health risks resulting from exposure to harmful emissions and changes in my home could minimize the exposure to various compounds and chemicals. Airflow in the House An inventory of my home showed that there are sufficient windows and doors to facilitate natural ventilation and air circulation. All the rooms are fairly spacious and they have one or two windows to achieve air flow in the house. Additionally, I have a mechanical air ventilation system and vents that facilitates air circulation in my home to reduce exposure to indoor air pollution. Chemical compounds, mold, dust, and aerosols are a major health concern for houses that have inadequate air circulation. Since I spend a significant amount of the time each day in my home, minimizing exposure to indoor air pollution is a priority issue (Porter, 2022). While each of the rooms have windows, the inventory showed that I could achieve better air flow with more windows particularly in the living room and bedroom to achieve better airflow. The combination of natural ventilation and the HVAC system have played a major...