Indoor Air Quality
June 11th, 2010 | 
Author: It’s cold outside. You turn up the heat, and curl up on the couch with a nice, hot cuppa. Your home is warm and cosy, and protected from the elements and pollutants outdoors.
Is it possible that your beautifully airtight, energy efficient home could be having a negative impact on your health and well-being?
The Environmental Protection Agency, suggests that Indoor Air Quality is up to 5 times more polluted than the air outdoors, and in some cases, this figure is much higher. The majority of people spend up to 90% of their time indoors. What impact is this having on our health and well-being?
Symptoms Of Poor Indoor Air Quality:
Flu like symptoms- Headaches
- Difficulty concentrating
- Lethargy
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Sinus problems
- Eye irritations
- Chronic respiratory problems, Asthma
- Eczema and skin irritations
- Feeling ‘under the weather’
Factors That Are Contributing To Poor Indoor Air Quality:
- Inadequate ventilation
- Insufficiently maintained Heating/Cooling Systems
- Chemical substances. For example, household cleaning solutions
- Synthetic building materials, finishes and paints (releasing toxic compounds, VOC’s)
- Animal dander
- Dust and dust mites
- Pollen
- Smoking
How Can We Improve The Quality Of Our Air Indoors?
1. Improve Ventilation
Opening your windows and switching ceiling fans on can greatly improve your Indoor Air Quality. Ventilation is particularly important in wet areas, such as bathrooms.
2. Service Heating/Cooling Systems Regularly
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the care and maintenance of your system, and have it serviced regularly. Ensure that all systems, as well as fire places are sufficiently flued.
3. Eliminate Chemical Substances
There are plenty of environmentally friendly, green cleaning products on the market today. Alternatively, go back to the basics of your grandparents’ generation for keeping the house clean, using items that can be found in your kitchen cupboard. You’ll be amazed at what you can do with some bicarbonate of soda and vinegar! That way, you not only save money, you avoid polluting the environment, and you and your family can breathe easy in your home. Stay tuned for more information on Non Toxic Cleaning in a future post.
4. Natural Building Materials
Avoiding synthetic and chemically treated products will help to reduce the risk of compromising your Indoor Air Quality. For example, use low VOC paints on walls, and untreated bamboo for flooring. The key here, is to do your research, as many companies include the word ‘natural’ into their marketing, however this does not necessarily mean that the product is completely natural.
5. Clean Your Home Regularly
This can help to improve Indoor Air Quality due to problems associated with dust, dust mites, animal dander, pollen and mold, etc. A HEPA filter vacuum cleaner is a worthy addition to any household.
6. Air Purifiers
Air Purification Systems assist in removing contaminants from the air. Other ways to purify the air include:
- House plants such as Areca Palms and Peace Lilies assist in removing harmful toxins from the air.
- Natural beeswax candles clean the air naturally and emit healthy ions (similar to the air you breathe by the ocean, or on a mountain).
- Himalayan Salt lamps. As the salt is heated, it produces healthy ions.
7. Smoke Detectors
Install combination smoke alarms/carbon monoxide detectors. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas produced by household appliances such as gas heaters.
8. Avoid Smoking In The Home
Breathe Easy In Your Home
Taking the above steps can go a huge way towards improving your Indoor Air Quality, allowing you and your loved ones to breathe easy, and enjoy your Home Sweet Home!
What changes have you made, or do you feel you could make to improve the air quality in your home?
Hilary 
Abundance of Wellness Advocate
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Tags: 22 Responses to “Indoor Air Quality”
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This is a fantastic blog post Hilary. I had my eyes opened to some of this info when I was a rep for a major fibre based cleaning company. I haven’t used cleaning chemicals for over 10 years now and it feels good to be protecting my family in this way. You suggested some other good ideas too like the plants and the beeswax candles, such easy steps to improve the indoor air quality in our homes.
Thanks Melanie. 10 years without cleaning chemicals, that’s fantastic! The plants and candles are such easy things to implements. My children also have salt lamps in their bedrooms.
Hi Hilary,
These are great tips on improving your indoor air quality. I prefer to use green cleaning products.
This way they’re great for my family and the environment.:)
Thanks Jazz. Everything we can do to help our families, and protect the environment however small should never be underestimated.
Hi Hilary,
What a pleasure to visit this page. This subject is a favourite of mine. Well done for your presentation both visually and information-wise. I’m looking forward to revisiting often.
Jo Carey-Bradshaw recently posted..Empowering Mindset – Obstacles or Pffffffft
Thanks for the feedback Jo. It’s great to get my thoughts out there on the things that I’m passionate about.
Hi Hilary,
I always have my bedroom window open at least 3 inches and then the first thing I do every morning, is open every window and door I can, to let the fresh air in to circulate, You have some great tips on improving indoor air quality I have always had indoor plants, its good to know I have been doing many of your points already.
Rita Pepper recently posted..Learn and Earn
Thanks Rita. Yes, having the window open just a little at night really is the best, and simplest thing that we can do. I’m lucky enough to live near the beach, and just love to walk on the sand and breathe in the ocean air
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I couldn’t agree more Hilary – I’m a big believer about air quality in the home. Even in winter I’ll open the windows and doors at various stages throughout the day to let some fresh air in – and stale air out! There are great alternatives to chemical cleaning products around – and healthy plants in the home are a must. Thanks for a great post.
Jan Littlehales recently posted..Bread Crumbs – Handy Tips
Hi Jan thanks for the feedback, it doesn’t take much to make a big difference.
Hi Lina. Glad you could learn something from it. Gotta love learning
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Hi Hilary
Gees, I had no idea that poor indoor air quality could cause so many problems! Learn something new every day, hey. Thanks for sharing and for the tips!
When I am in a shopping centre, I sometimes walk past women who reek of perfume that makes my head spin. I wonder what the indoor air quality is like in their bedrooms and what effects all that smelly chemical is having on them and their loved ones?
Wal Heinrich recently posted..Cheapest Granny Flats In Australia
Hi Hilary,
I am aware now of using toxic chemicals as cleaning products than I used to be. I take care and read the labels before buying, body soap, shampoo, dish washing liquid, washing powder, etc, and now look for the Eco safe products as much as possible.
Now if I accidentally walk down the chemicals isle in the supermarkets the smell is almost unbearable and makes my eyes water.
Thank-you for the info.
Hi Wal and Jill. Yes it’s interesting how you start to notice chemical smells more, the less you use them.
Hi Hilary,
Indoor air quality is something that’s so easily overlooked (I do it myself). I’d hate to think of all the nasties floating round the air around me. It makes me want to hold my breath. I agree that ventilation and the servicing of air con units is paramount. You’ve got to make sure that air can get in and out efficiently.
David Moloney recently posted..What is the Best Domain Hosting
The quality of the air we breathe is often an overlooked factor in many homes. I would advocate not only avoiding all cleaning chemicals but also to give a thought to new mattresses, carpets, curtains etc. They give off quite noxious fumes while still new as they are treated with insecticides and various other noxious chemicals. Always wash new clothes and all fabric or vinyl before using, if you cannot wash them leave them in the sun for a couple of days or in a well ventilated room.
Very useful post, thank you.
Maya C recently posted..Green living without consumerism
Thanks Maya for your valuable input, I totally agree with you on all accounts. There really are so many simple things we can do to make a difference
An interesting post Hiliary. I know when summer ends and we start shutting our house up it always seems so stuffy, but then we get used to poor indoor air quality over winter. More focused on being warm, I guess.
But when summer comes along, having the ventilated air circulating is an absolute pleasure. We had evaporative cooling installed last summer and it makes a huge difference, not only to temperature but also to air freshness.
Tom McEwin recently posted..Why Begin Article Marketing with EzineArticles
I’m glad that you came up with a post on air quality. So many people devote a lot of time and effort to stay healthy through a natural diet and proper exercises but forget about the importance of the air we breathe. Even more than eating of drinking water, breathing is essential to life. The air quality does have a direct impact on our health. Following your better air quality tips is a great way to avoid potentially heamful toxins like pollution, chemical emanation coming from building materials, toxic cleaners and mold or bacteria.
Great post!
Veronica (lifewithnature) recently posted..How and why to wash fruits and vegetables
Thanks Veronica for the feedback. It’s all about taking a holistic approach to health and wellness, and it really can be very simple
[...] ABUNDANCE OF WELLNESS Love Life, Live Life, Empower Yourself…Because You're Worth It! « Indoor Air Quality [...]
Thanks for the article, I came across it when researching air quality as I swear the office my wife works is making her and others at her work sick regularly. Very enlightening, now just need to work out what can be done about it from a “dealing with management” point of view!
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