You can see many products which say, ‘good for removing fine dust in Korea’. Masks, cleansers, and air cleaners are representative products. Commercials for masks are even broadcasted on TV, which are endorsed by some celebrities. You can also check the concentration of fine dust on weather forecasts easily. These phenomena show the fact that awareness of fine dust is increasing among Koreans. Since the mass media have covered fine dust, people have started to care about it.
Fine dust means very thin dust that is thinner than one fifth of a single hair. The main causes of fine dust are burning fossil fuels, especially by using boilers, riding cars, and incinerating trash. In addition, using gas in the kitchen at home also produces fine dust. The fine dust causes many drawbacks. Firstly, it spoils scenery. It makes air foggy and floats in the air. Fine dust settles on the exterior of buildings and turns them yellow. Secondly, fine dust seriously exacerbates human’s health. Once the fine dust enters the body, it does not go out of the body. The fine dust leads to infection and diseases in the body. Fine dust accumulates in the body. It epecially affects eyes, nose, lung, heart, and blood vessels.
Many people used to be into fine dust, but there are many misunderstandings as a result of attention. Thus, you should learn and prepare for it because the results can be extremely negative. Let’s look at some misunderstandings about fine dust and the right ways to prepare.
1. Is the fine dust problem more serious in spring?
The yellow dust occurs in spring, so people tend to think the fine dust as a problem more related with spring. However, there is a lot of fine dust in winter because of using a boiler. In addition, if rainfall is not enough, it will cause much more fine dust. You have to keep yourself alert on the issue for a whole year, not just in spring.
2. Is Samgyeopsal Good for Removing Fine Dust?
After people stay in dusty places for a long time, they might want to clear their throat. In this case, they eat pork belly which is called Samgyeopsal. People usually believe that the oily meat would wash their throat with its oil. In fact, harmful components in dust are absorbed effectively by oil, so oily Samgyeopsal helps the fine dust to act in the body. On the contrary, water prevents bad things in the fine dust from being activated in the body. If you really want to remove the inhaled fine dust, it is better to drink water a lot than to eat greasy food.
3. Is Ventilation Good or Not When the Fine Dust Is Serious?
Some of you might think you should close windows firmly to prevent fine dust from coming in. Unfortunately, even when you close all windows in your home, you cannot be free from the fine dust. Very simple daily things for indoor like cooking and doing laundry can cause the fine dust. To conclude, it is imperative to let indoor dust go out. It is inappropriate that opening every window all day long when the concentration of fine dust is too high. However, ventilating is important. Check the concentration of the fine dust and ventilate for a while when the extent of it is not extremely bad. You can check the concentration easily through some applications. Even if a day seems very clear, the fine dust could be serious, so you must watch the weather forecast before opening windows.
4. Are Plants Practical for Fine Dust?
Needs for air cleaners are considerably increased due to the fine dust. However, the effective air cleaner is usually big and expensive, so some people hesitate to buy it. Purifying plants are as popular as air cleaners among those people. Do they clean the atmosphere well? They do, of course, but billions of trees are needed to obtain meaningful effects. In other words, we should not expect to keep air clean with a small pot of them. Its effect is too weak to do the same work with one air cleanser. The expense of buying that many trees might never be cheaper than purchasing an air cleaner. Buying an air cleanser is the more rational choice.
These kinds of misunderstandings are prevalent among Koreans. You have to know and deal with the fine dust exactly. Here are two very simple suggestions. Drink water a lot, and wear masks. Water helps the body to remove fine dust which is already accumulated, and masks stop fine dust from coming in. Keep these two things in mind and you can protect yourself from fine dust.
