Is your house trying to kill you? Allergy symptoms could be caused by your home workout—or just your home

Men's Fitness, April, 2003 by Ben Kallen

If you have apparent allergies or cold-like symptoms that don't seem to go away, there's a good chance your home is responsible for at least part of the problem. And if you work out at home, especially in a humid area such as the basement, your exposure to harmful substances could be much worse.

"When you're exercising, your respiration rate may be as much as 10 times faster than when you're sitting down," says Jeffrey C. May, president of a home-inspections company in Cambridge, Mass., and the author of My House Is Killing Me! "So if you're exercising in a place that's moldy or full of mites, you can get quite ill."

While individuals have different levels of sensitivity, May believes that as many as 25 percent of people who exercise in moldy spaces will eventually get sick. And the inhalation of toxic fumes is the fourth-leading cause of accidents in the home, according to the Injury Prevention Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

While exercise can make the problem worse, simply living in a poisonous house is no picnic. Here are some of the home-bred health problems you're likely to face, and how to deal with them.

MOLD

You may have seen TV reports about "toxic mold," a black goo often caused when water leaks into the well-insulated walls of newer homes. Less virulent varieties of mold are more common, but can still cause reactions ranging from mild to debilitating. Basements, poorly ventilated bathrooms and any high-humidity areas are frequent targets; mold can also get into heating and air-conditioning ducts, from which it enters the household air supply. If your walls have black spots or the air smells mildewy, you've likely got a problem. "Often you can't see mold; it will grow on the bottom of furniture or in the carpet," May says.

What to do: Unexplained allergic symptoms such as a runny nose or cough can indicate mold, especially if you've ever had a water leak in your walls or ceiling. Cleaning surfaces with a bleach solution and dehumidifying the air can help, but if you have mold inside your walls or any serious buildup, you'll want to have it dealt with by a professional. (Check the Internet or your local yellow pages.)

DUST MITES

A common cause of asthma and allergies, dust mites exist anywhere there's dust and moisture. (Actually, much of the "dust" in your home consists of minute particles of shed human skin.) If you're living with carpeting and upholstered furniture--and a sporadic cleaning schedule--you've probably got a whole lot of uninvited visitors. They especially like taking up residence in bedding, which means you could be inhaling them as you sleep.

What to do: The worst environment for mites is a well-scrubbed home with hardwood floors and vinyl or leather furniture. If that's not possible, frequently clean your carpeting, drapes and furniture, and use a vacuum that filters out particles so they don't simply get blown back out into the air. Switch to allergen-blocking pillowcases and mattress pads, and wash your bedding in hot water frequently.

CARBON MONOXIDE

Gas stoves, water heaters, furnaces and fireplaces can all release this odorless gas if they aren't properly maintained. The result can be deadly, especially if your home isn't well-ventilated.

What to do: If you experience flulike symptoms after using an appliance, have your local gas company check it out immediately. You might want to install a carbon-monoxide detector in your home, just in case.

If you don't suffer from allergy or asthma symptoms and your place doesn't smell, you probably don't have much to worry about. (You're likely to get a lot more second dates, too.) But it pays to be careful: Keep your home dust-free and well-maintained, and leave your exercise equipment upstairs. We know that cleaning isn't your favorite thing to do, but you'll end up breathing easier.

10 RULES FOR A HEALTHY HOME WORKOUT

1. Be wary about exercising in your basement, or anywhere that has a moldy smell or contains carpets or draperies that are difficult to clean.

2. If you smell mold, or if there's evidence of water leakage in the walls or ceilings of your workout room, get a mold inspection. The inspector will take samples from your walls and send them to a lab for testing.

3. If there's a lot of moisture in the air, use a dehumidifier.

4. Remove any upholstered furniture that's likely to collect dust.

5. If you have carpets or drapes, clean them frequently with a well-filtered vacuum.

6. If you need a soft surface to exercise on, use plastic exercise mats or washable throw rugs.

7. Wipe down your workout equipment frequently with antibacterial cleanser.

8. Open windows to ventilate the area whenever possible.

9. Use a high-quality air cleaner with a HEPA filter, and change the filter as often as the instructions indicate.

10. Don't allow pets into your workout room.