How to minimise indoor air pollution: World Environment Day

It’s seven in the morning, you are about to start your morning jog, and you start coughing.Whatever happened to fresh air? Is it now unpleasant? Unhealthy? In many areas, yes! To make matters worse, it is unavoidable – for a great deal of us, anyway. This World Environmental Day, let’s aim to understand more about indoor air pollution, how it affects our health, and what can we do about it.

The truth is, so many cities across the globe suffer from critical levels of air pollution.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared multiple cities in India some of the world’s Top 20 Most Polluted Cities – including Gwallor, Patna, Raipur, Delhi and Lucknow. Qatar, Uganda, Cameroon and China also made the list.

How about the air we breathe at home? Does being indoors mean that we breathe cleaner air?

You’ll be surprised.

Scientists discovered in a recent study that…

the air inside our homes is, on average, up to five times more polluted than the air outside!

Common indoor-air pollutants include airborne particulates that sneak in from outdoor air:
• Fine-particles
• sand from sandstorms
• allergens
• viruses
• bacteria
• fungi
• mould
• formaldehyde from furniture
• volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
• and chemicals from household essentials

We may not realise that what we normally do every day at home, such as home cooking, smoking at home (ugh), and using air freshener are the major culprits of indoor air pollution.

WHO reported that 3.8 million deaths are attributed to household air pollution annually.

Common health problems caused by indoor air pollution include:
• Asthma
• Allergies
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
• Lung cancer

What can we do to minimise indoor air pollution?

Cook smart
Wood fire oven pizza? Charcoal grilled barbecue? These sound mega delicious but unfortunately, the cooking process isn’t good for our health. Choose cleaner, more modern stove and fuels and make sure that it has enough ventilation.

Don’t smoke indoors
Well, ideally, just don’t smoke. But if you absolutely have to, don’t smoke indoors. Smoke from your cig stays in your home and stick to your sofa, cushions, curtains and carpets. Remember, the harmful effects of smoking won’t just affect you, but your loved ones too, especially children.

Choose the right household cleaning products
Who would have thought? We’re using household cleaning products to create a healthy home for our family, but most of them contain chemicals that release fumes and irritate our breathing and our skin. Choose something with no artificial scent, such as BioSilver Gel 22.

Keep your home clean and tidy
This sounds so straightforward but it is often the hardest to achieve and maintain. Mess gathers dust in places that we can’t reach. Minimise clutter and clean your home regularly.

Go easy on the indoor fragrances
Guests are coming and you feel the need to make your home smell like a meadow in the spring? That’s nice but your guests might end up sneezing during their visits because of the harsh chemicals from the fragrances. Keeping your home clean is the way to go.

Use the right air purifier
The wrong air purifier may cause more harm than good. Choose the one that can help you minimise the right pollutants at home.

Here are some tips on how to choose the right one:

INFOGRAPHIC: A Guide to Buying Air Purifiers

Breath healthy, live absolutely.