How to Improve Your Indoor Air Quality

There is a lot of talk about outdoor air pollution (carbon emissions, etc.), but often ignored is the quality of indoor air. In this day and age, we spend far more time indoors than out, but it is often that indoor air pollution goes unnoticed while it negatively impacts our health. That's why I put together eight things you can do to improve the quality of your indoor air.

Use natural pesticides rather than traditional ones that are toxic for both you and the bugs. These store-bought pesticides don't know the difference between you and an ant, you just don't notice anything because you are a lot bigger than an ant. Rather than subjecting yourself to these harmful products, though, use natural pesticides to keep the bugs away. Check out this page and this page for some great info.

Use natural cleaning products rather than store-bought ones, which often contain harmful chemicals. When you do clean in your home, make sure the area is well-ventilated. Check out this page and this page for some great cleaning solutions you can make from things in your kitchen.

Look for low-VOC paints.Besides pesticides and cleaning products, paints can also contain chemicals harmful to our respiratory system. We all know to ventilate the area while we are painting, but many don't realize that paint can continue to offgas volitaile organic compounds (VOCs) for years to come. The next time you're looking to paint the bathroom, look for low- or zero-VOC paints (they do exist) and you'll be able to breathe a little easier.
Read this article for more info.

You've probably got the air conditioning up and running in your house to combat rising temperatures. Make sure, however, that you clean the air filter in your air conditioning units regularly, and replace them occasionally as well, to keep the air clean. Consult your owner's manual to see exactly how to do this.

Check your home for mold. Mold thrives in humid places, so the most common place to find mold is the bathroom or in the basement. Mold is quite harmful, especially when agitated, so you should take precautions when removing it. You should wear a mask, goggles and rubber gloves to tackle the job. Once you've suited up, scrub off the mold with a non-ammonia soap or detergent, and then wipe the cleaned area with bleach to kill any remaining spores. Make sure to adequately ventilate the area while doing this. If you do not have windows in your bathroom, set up fans to carry the air out of the room. See this page for some more info on mold.

When it comes to shower curtains, just say 'No' to PVC. Much like our friends above, PVC shower curtains can offgas a good deal of VOCs in the first months of their use. You know that new plastic smell that PVC curtains have. Well that is the smell of toluene and ethylbenzene, and these compounds are quite toxic, and can cause allergy-like symptoms, headaches or even more severe health issues. Look for shower curtains that are PVC-free (it should say so on the packaging).

Have your home checked for radon. Radon is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas. In other words, if you don't have your home tested, you won't know if you have dangerous levels of radon in your home until it's too late. Radon is a naturaly occuring radioactive gas that is the second most common cause of lung cancer in America (after smoking). For more information on having your home tested, or ordering a DIY test kit, see the EPA's website.

Above all else, a well-ventilated home is the key to good indoor air quality. They don't call it 'fresh air' for nothing. So open those windows and get the air circulating.