Too many people do not realize how important indoor air quality is! We often think about outdoor air, but the air we breathe in our homes, work buildings, and inside environments we visit every day has a vital effect on our health and wellness. Understanding and dealing with common indoor pollutants can help us feel more comfortable in our environment, and it is important to know that health effects from these indoor pollutants can be experienced immediately or years after exposure! 

Some air pollutants to look out for are: asbestos, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, lead, nitrogen dioxide, radon, secondhand smoke, and VOCs just to name a few. Older structures contain many of these pollutants and newer buildings are airtight which limits ventilation!

You can test and monitor the air by checking out an air quality monitor and radon detector from our Library of Things! That's awesome. 

Testing and treating our indoor air quality can have a really positive impact on our health and wellness by reducing irritation, inflammation, headaches, and soothing asthma and respiratory problems. This should not be limited to our homes, but we should also test the air quality in our classrooms, work environments, living facilities, and places where we spend lots of time breathing! It is well-documented that better air quality leads to better health and dirty air leads to bad health!   

We can improve our indoor air quality by adding some plants to our spaces (spider plants, pothos, snake plants & many more), using green or plant-based cleaning products (soaps, detergents, solutions) that are low in toxins, avoiding smoking indoors, ventilating our spaces (opening the windows can reduce energy bills!), reducing dampness and dehumidifying, replacing our air filters regularly, keeping our pets clean, and cleaning our air ducts. You can also use a HEPA air purifier!