Simple ways in which you can improve the air quality indoors

Opening your windows is an obvious solution to improve the air quality while you're at home for all these days. There are also many other ways with which you can improve the quality of the air at home if opening your windows is not feasible option for one too many hours. Dr Appelles Econs, an allergy specialist at the Burghwood Clinic says, “Fresh air isn’t the enemy. Open your windows.”

If you keep your windows shut all day long, it will only allow allergens and chemicals to build up inside your home. Even if you live in a polluted city, you will have to open your windows for some time of the day. Says Dr Paul Young of Lancaster University, “You don’t want to be stuck in a house with no ventilation all day. If you live near a super-busy road, you may not want to have the window open all the time, but you are going to need to ventilate.” Hence, opening your window in the night when there's less traffic is a good option.

Other than that, plants can help, a little not a lot. Plants help in removing toxic pollutants from the air. But studies say that plants improve air quality but not as much as we think. Prof Pawel Wargocki of the Technical University of Denmark explains, “Unless you have a rainforest in your home, the effect can be minimal. You need to have many plants to see a meaningful effect on air quality because buildings are not fully airtight environments – there is always air coming in from outside.”

You can minimise pollutants in your home Young says, “When cooking, make sure you have your ventilator fan on. And don’t smoke inside – smoke can hang around for a long time inside.” Reconsider the products that you are using to clean your home. Econs says, “Even if their containers are firmly closed, cleaning chemicals produce volatile organic components.” Hence, if possible, you need to keep cleaning products outside the house, in a garden shed or garage. Even air fresheners or room sprays aren't that big a deal when it comes to improving the air quality indoors.

You need to beware of the excess moisture. Econs says, “The greatest factor affecting air quality in British households is indoor humidity.” You can minimise humidity by ventilating and deal with any mould on walls on priority. After showering, you need to remove local moisture by wiping down surfaces as well as turning on the bathroom extractor fan. When it comes to washing your cloths, you can try to dry them outside if possible or at least in a nicely ventilated space.