However, many of the things we do to make our homes more comfortable, such as decorating, lighting candles and using air fresheners, can increase our exposure to pollutants.
Read on to discover what steps you can take to reduce pollution in your home.
Be inspired to make home improvements. Sign up for our1. Open your windows – but be strategic
Opening your windows regularly removes polluting particles from the air in your living space and lets in fresh air. Don't forget to do this in winter when humidity is high, however tempting it is to keep all windows tightly closed.
You need to be strategic about when you open your windows, though. If you live near a busy road, keep them closed at peak traffic time. Research by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) in 2022 found A-roads, railway stations, motorways and industrial plants can 'create millions of tonnes of highly damaging air particles which enter our bodies and can remain for up to three months'.
2. Use your cooker hood and extractor fans
Cooking produces grease, smoke, smells and moisture. Switch on your cooker hood and fans during and after cooking – even if you find them annoyingly noisy – to clear the air of oil and other ingredients that have evaporated. This will also limit damage to your walls and kitchen cabinets.
If you can, get an extracting cooker hood, sometimes called a vented hood or ducted hood, rather than a recirculating one. Extracting hoods send the air out of your home through the wall or roof, while recirculating models filter the air through a carbon filter and recirculate it inside your kitchen. If you have a recirculating hood, make sure you clean and change the filter regularly.
You could also install an extractor fan in any room where you want to control humidity, gas or smoke. An extractor fan in your bathroom can pull moist air out of the room, preventing mould spores growing. It can also remove the after effects of using toiletries and cleaning products.
We test all the cooker hoods we review in extraction mode, which is a more effective way to remove steam and smells. See our to find the best one for you3. Don't block existing ventilation
Avoid blocking existing permanent ventilation features, such as air bricks and trickle vents on windows. They allow air to circulate naturally when windows and doors are closed, as well as allowing oxygen in, moderating internal temperatures, reducing the risk of condensation and preventing pollutants building up inside.
In 2017, we carried out an investigation into indoor air pollution in three houses: one from the Victorian era, one from the 1950s and one new build. We performed a range of everyday tasks in the houses – vacuuming, cleaning, using air fresheners and candles, cooking a fry-up and burning toast – and measured the air quality in each house before and afterwards.
We found the highest levels of air pollution were in the 1950s house, where home improvements such as cavity wall and roof insulation, double glazing and other energy-efficiency measures had made the house overly airtight.
4. Vacuum frequently
Vacuuming is important for removing polluting particles. The best vacuum cleaners will pick up twice as much dust as the worst, and they’re much better at stopping particles leaking back out into your room.
Carpets can harbour allergens, so it's important to vacuum these often, especially if you're in a rental property. If you suffer from allergies, and have the option to, it's a good idea to replace your carpets with solid flooring, which will be much easier to clean.
It's particularly important to vacuum if you have pets, as pet dander can add to the air pollution in your home. Dogs and cats naturally shed old hair – some twice a year, some all the time. Pollen can also attach itself to your pet's fur and be carried indoors, which isn't ideal if you're a hay fever sufferer, so keep your pet off your bed if you can.
Consider the following when choosing a vacuum cleaner:
Cylinder or uprightCordless or cordedBagged or baglessExtra toolsHowever often you clean, you'll never get your house free of dust, but you can reduce it. Don't wear shoes indoors, wash bedding regularly and take non-washable items outside to shake clean.
5. Don't rely on plants to purify your air
Plants are beautiful, and can make a home environment feel calmer and more pleasant. However, don't expect too much of your plants when it comes to air quality.
As we previously reported, this is an area of growing, exciting research. Plants can reduce pollution to some degree, but at home you would need large numbers of house plants, cared for under optimum conditions (including with ideal potting soil, ideal temperature and more light than you'd typically get at home), to make a significant difference.
: we explain the facts and nuances.6. Be on the lookout for damp and mould
High humidity levels can cause respiratory problems and provide a perfect breeding ground for mould spores, dust mites, clothes moths, fleas, cockroaches and other nasties.
If you've got asthma or a weakened immune system, you should take particular care to keep humidity levels in your home in check.
To avoid you home becoming damp and mouldy, avoid hanging wet washing indoors if you at all can. You might not have any other option if you don’t have a tumble dryer or an outdoor clothes line, but when moisture in the air meets cold surfaces, such as windows and walls, it condenses.
If you must dry your washing indoors, open a window so water vapour can escape. Alternatively, use a dehumidifier and close the windows and doors of that room.
Use a clothes airer rather than hanging your washing directly on the radiator. Putting clothes on the radiator can cause condensation, add to your heating bills, damage the delicate fibres in your clothes and complicate your case if you're renting and trying to get your landlord to do something about your damp problem.
Set up your clothes horse in the sunniest spot in your home, unless that’s your bedroom, as you should avoid drying clothes in the room you sleep in.
Don’t put damp clothes back in your wardrobe. Getting mould out of a wardrobe can be a nightmare – you can’t just set to it with mould remover and a stiff-bristled brush, because this could damage the materials.
7. Ventilate when cleaning and decorating
When painting, decorating and cleaning, make sure that the room is well ventilated. Chemicals found in everyday products, such as paints, aerosols and cleaning products with limonene and pinene (familiar lemon and pine smells), can emit VOCs.
Exposure to very high levels of VOCs can cause eye, nose and throat irritation, as well as headaches and nausea. In the long term, they can also cause damage to the liver, kidneys and central nervous system.
If you've got asthma, try to look for paint that is labelled 'low in VOCs' to minimise your exposure. After decorating, wait for paint and solvent smells to subside before using the room again.
Reduce your use of easily inhaled sprays, aerosols and furniture polish (dust with a damp cloth or electrostatically charged duster instead). Scented candles and air fresheners can also be a culprit for airborne irritants; if there's an unpleasant odour in your house, track down and deal with the source rather than trying to drown it out.
Thinking of redecorating? Browse our guide to the8. Use less-polluting cleaning products
Consider switching to ways of cleaning that are less polluting than household aerosols and sprays.
E-cloths are microfibre cloths designed to remove more than 99% of bacteria. All you need to do is rinse the cloth and wring it out, draw it across your dirty surfaces and wash it afterwards with hot water or in the washing machine.
White vinegar can be great for some jobs, such as descaling kettles and shower heads, and leaving streak-free windows. Don't use vinegar to clean mirrors, stone or granite kitchen countertops, or wooden or stone flooring, as it can make them lose their shine. Don't use it for knives, washing machines or dishwashers, either, as it might cause damage.
Baking soda works wonders for stains and smells, it's non-abrasive and saves you having to scrub or use bleach. You can use it to wipe away old food residues from the inside of a fridge, for example, or you can add it to pots and pans to help lift stubborn, crusty foods.
Be aware that in marketing, words such as 'green', 'natural' and 'eco friendly' are often meaningless, as there's no regulation around their use.
If using shop-bought cleaning products, choose cream cleaners over spray cleaners, and scentless or low-scent products if you can. The less fragrance, the less reactive chemistry there is likely to be.
9. Don't use unvented heaters
Avoid using unvented (also known as vent-free) appliances such as freestanding gas and paraffin heaters. These might sound convenient, as they don't require a vent pipe or chimney, making them easy to install, but they release a number of harmful pollutants into your room.
All gas heaters, even when burning properly, produce carbon dioxide (CO2). When carbon dioxide builds up, it results in drowsiness, dizziness and headaches, creating an impression of a stuffy, closed house.
10. Be aware of the risks of wood-burning stoves
Unless you rely on a wood-burning stove for heating, think carefully before buying one. Burning wood can lead to both indoor and outdoor air pollution.
Burning solid fuels like wood emits ultra-fine particulate matter, also known as PM2.5: the air pollutant with the greatest impact on human health. There is no safe level of PM2.5, and even short term exposure to PM2.5 increases the risk of early deaths from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Children growing up exposed to PM2.5 are more likely to have reduced lung function and can develop asthma.
Although new Ecodesign regulations came into force in January 2022, many scientists remain extremely concerned about the impact even of the new wood-burning stoves on our indoor air quality.
If you already have a wood-burning stove or fire, or you have no other option but to buy one, try to reduce your, and your neighbours' exposure to pollution, by burning only untreated, fully dried wood with a moisture content of 20% or less. This will be labelled as 'ready to burn'. Some types of fuel, such as wet logs and house coal, produce far more particulate matter than dry logs and low-sulphur smokeless fuels, such as anthracite coal.
When wood doesn't have a good enough supply of oxygen, it creates more smoke and potentially harmful emissions. It also increases sooty build-up in your chimney. Make sure the flue damper is open before you use it. Clean the flue and chimney often so that smoke has a means to escape.
Keep the fire constant, so that the flue stays at the right temperature. This will help to avoid carbon monoxide (CO) coming down the chimney.
Asthma + Lung UK says that 'If possible, you should not use wood burners, especially if you have a lung condition.
11. Don't smoke indoors
You don't need us to tell you about the dangers of smoking. You might be surprised to learn, though, that when you smoke, more smoke gets released into the air – where others can breathe it in – than goes into your lungs.
The NHS says that second-hand smoke (the smoke you exhale, plus the sidestream of smoke from your cigarette end) puts your family at risk from the same diseases as smokers, such as lung cancer and heart disease. Children living in a smoky house also have a greater chance of developing asthma, breathing problems and other allergies.
Does your smoke alarm need replacing? Read our12. Consider an air purifier
Buying an air purifier certainly shouldn't be the first or only thing you do to reduce your indoor air pollution: first, deal with the problem at its source by minimising any pollution you're creating.
But, as well as taking the above steps, you could consider an air purifier. This could be particularly useful if you have allergies or respiratory problems, live near a major road or industrial facility, or you're often exposed to second-hand smoke or odours you have no control over.
Air purifiers aren't perfect as they don't offer a solution to the problem of air pollution. But they can reduce the level of pollution you breathe in. Bear in mind that they'll only be able to clean the air in one room rather than your whole house.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/12-tips-for-reducing-air-pollution-in-your-home-a4QbR7t7NNHQ