The health risks to babies from pollutants in house dust may be 100 times greater than for adults. The young ingest more dust and are up to ten times more vulnerable to such exposures. House dust is the main exposure source for infants to allergens, lead, and PBDEs, as well as a major source of exposure to pesticides, PAHs, Gram-negative bacteria, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, phthalates, phenols, and other EDCs, mutagens, and carcinogens. Median or upper percentile concentrations in house dust of lead and several pesticides and PAHs may exceed health-based standards in North America. Early contact with pollutants among the very young is associated with higher rates of chronic illness such as asthma, loss of intelligence, ADHD, and cancer in children and adults.
The concentration of pollutants in house dust may be 2-32 times higher than that found in the soil near a house. Reducing infant exposures, at this critical time in their development, may reduce lifetime health costs, improve early learning, and increase adult productivity. To better serve our clients we work with vacuum cleaners with HEPA filtration and we use microfiber damp rags to remove dust from furniture etc.
Infants receive their highest exposure to pollutants in dust at home, where they spend the most time, and where the family has the most mitigation control.
Studies show that improved home cleaning significantly reduces the risk of all these health concerns for infants. We believe that having a professional house cleaning service can reduce the exposure of infants to pollutants in house dust, while recognizing that much remains to be learned about improving the effectiveness of monitoring the dust in other ways in your home.
(Source: PubMed.com -US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health)