I don’t think I can overstate the importance of breathing.
In my room, I keep a large tower fan. It serves a dual purpose, both subtly cooling the room without having to crank up the air conditioning and providing some comforting white noise for bed time. But recently, out of idle curiosity and boredom, I cracked the fan’s casing open to see if it had accumulated any dust in the few years I’ve been using it. Oh boy, did it ever. There was at least a couple of vacuum bags worth of dust caked on that thing, and I had to take it outside and blast it with compressed air to clean it all off. It dawned on me that having that dust-blaster running all night may have been a contributor to my regular allergies.
The modern home is full of air-regulating tools, from fans to air conditioners to tower computers. But as with most things, you need to take regular care of these things, not just for sake of cleanliness, but for your continuing health. Fans and AC filters build up a lot of assorted crud, and if you just leave them as they are, all of that crud is getting regularly blown into your lungs. That’s bad enough on its own, but if you have a history of breathing difficulties, well, I don’t think I need to elaborate.
The best way to keep crud out of your lungs is to keep your living space clean. Make sure to regularly vacuum the floors, especially if you have carpet, in order to catch any wayward allergens. Change and/or clean the filters in your AC on a regular basis, and occasionally open a window to let some fresh air in. If you’re having a consistent problem with dust and allergens, consider investing in a small air purifier and keeping it nearby. It should absorb most airborne particles, though you’ll have to remember to clean that as well.
Good, clean air is a building block of life, and all of the air under your roof is your responsibility. So do the responsible thing and keep your air clean. Your lungs will thank you.
