Okay, take a deep breath before you read the opening of this article. Ready?
The air you’re taking into your body every day might be pretty dirty. At least, dirtier than you expect—and that applies to both indoor and outdoor air. While your body’s immune system is able to fend off air pollution to some extent, air that’s especially dirty can have both short- and long-term health effects. If two and a half years of the COVID-19 pandemic has made you more aware of your respiratory health in general, you might feel more motivated to start cleaning up the air around you in whatever way you can.
According to the American Lung Association, particles and pollutants in the air might include everything from tobacco smoke and diesel emissions to pollen and mold spores, as well as dust, pet dander, and even aerosol chemicals. All of this particulate matter is much too small for us to see with our bare eyes, but when we breathe it in, it goes into our lungs, where it can irritate pre-existing lung disease. Some pollutants can even go from our lungs into our bloodstream, where they affect other cells, tissues, and organs in our body.
In the short term, you might suffer problems like headaches, eye and nose irritation, or a sore throat. But in the long term, you could suffer much bigger problems like asthma, emphysema, cancer, and heart disease. In fact, air pollution is so bad that that World Health Organization officially dubbed it a carcinogen in 2013, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences calls it a “major threat to global health,” one that has increased over the past two decades and causes an estimated 6.5 million deaths per year. These problems disproportionately affect people of color and low-income communities, which are often located closer to sources of emissions like busy roadways or power plants. Even indoors, particulate matter from dirty carpets, moldy walls, tobacco smoke, and chemical cleaners can pose major problems.
While reducing outdoor air pollution will require major systemic changes, there are small steps you can take in your home to clean up the quality of your air to some extent.
Here are four expert-recommended Tips:
1. Avoid anything that will add particulate matter in your home, such as woodburning stoves or chemical-based air fresheners and cleaners. Refrain from smoking cigarettes or other tobacco products indoors.
2. Get fresh air circulating within your house by running an exhaust fan and opening your windows. Consider investing in an electric air cleaner with a HEPA-quality filter.
3. Vacuum regularly and use a microfiber cloth to pick up dust on all surfaces.
4. Monitor the humidity in your home—particularly in wet areas like bathrooms and basements—to prevent any mold or mildew. If you suspect you might have mold or mildew developing, bring in a remediation specialist.
