Winter Makes Indoor Air Quality Worse

A breath of fresh air may be hard to come by in the winter. Did you know the air inside your home is probably more polluted than outdoor air?

According to the American Lung Association, your home or indoor spaces can be up to five times more polluted than the air you breathe outside, especially during winter.

When cold weather comes, we seal up, heat and humidify our homes – all of which worsens indoor air quality. With no outside air to dilute emissions from household appliances, furnishings and cleaners, you’re breathing dirty air all winter long.

How Bad Is Indoor Air Pollution?

Most people spend their winter days inside, but breathing indoor air can be dirtier than the air in smoggy cities. Chemicals, bacteria, mold and mildew particles can contaminate indoor air and make inhaling it bad for your health.

Indoor air pollution aggravates respiratory conditions like asthma, allergies and chronic lung diseases. But dirty air has even been linked to health problems like heart disease and stroke.

What Causes Indoor Air Pollution?

Air is considered polluted when it contains harmful substances. There are many causes of indoor air pollution, including:

• Chemicals released into the air by:
• New furniture, paint and carpeting
• Household cleaners or air fresheners
• Pesticides
• Emissions from gas-powered appliances such as stovetops, ovens, and washers and dryers
• Mold and mildew particles
• Dust particles from carpeting entering the air
• Smoke from tobacco and wood-burning fires and candles

It can be a sign of poor indoor air quality if you’re experiencing fatigue, headaches and discomfort with your nose, lungs, throat or eyes.

How Can I Improve Air Quality In My Home?

Many factors can result in poor indoor air quality, so it’s crucial to recognize what’s considered good quality.

Good indoor air quality includes:

• Comfortable temperature and humidity
• Introduction of fresh outdoor air when possible
• Control of pollution-causing factors

Try these three steps to improve indoor air quality in your home: Reduce sources of pollution, increase airflow and rid the air of contaminants.

Eliminate Sources Polluting Your Indoor Air Quality

The easiest way to improve your home’s air quality is to stop pollution in the first place. Here are some do’s and don’ts:

Do

• Choose hard flooring over carpeting
• Use less toxic household cleaners. Check out these ideas for healthier home cleaners.
• Keep damp areas like the shower and basement clean and free of mold

Don't

• Smoke
• Burn wood or sooty candles
• Use air fresheners
• Purchase pressed-wood furniture

Increase Air Flow For Better Indoor Air Quality

Most homes could use more ventilation during the winter. Some common winter air problems and how to solve them include:

Musty or stuffy air inside your home: Open up windows and doors. The fresh outdoor air will dilute the indoor air and decrease pollution.

Mold and mildew forming or condensation on interior windows: Your house is too humid. Reduce indoor humidity to 30 to 60 percent by using a dehumidifier or lowering the humidity setting on your furnace.

Contaminated air circulating: Use bathroom fans while bathing and kitchen fans while cooking. These fans move moist air and pollutants out of your house through a vent that opens to the outside.

Clean The Air

Some sing the praises of salt lamps, beeswax candles and certain houseplants for removing toxins from the air. However, there isn’t adequate research to support those claims. And if you overwater plants, the damp soil can become a breeding ground for microorganisms that can pollute the air.

So what can you do?

Replace air filters: The filters in your furnace or heating and cooling system trap particles, which keeps the air clean. Regularly replacing the filters ensures the air circulating in your home is free of dirt.

Buy air purifiers: These portable air cleaning devices are another option. They're designed to reduce air pollution in an area of your home. Their effectiveness depends on their clean air delivery rate (CADR), a measurement of how much air the device can filter. The higher the CADR rating, the bigger a room it can handle.

Overall, the best thing you can do to improve indoor air quality is to avoid common pollutants. It’s much easier than trying to get them out of the air. By taking preventive measures and doing your best to keep the air in your home clean, you can feel good about the extra snuggle time you spend indoors this winter. 

(If you’re concerned indoor air pollution is affecting your health, don’t ignore it. See your doctor to discuss your symptoms and possible causes.)