What You Breathe In: Why Indoor Air Quality In Your Home Is Important + How To Improve it
Indoor air quality (IAQ) isn’t exactly at the top of your list when you think of what an interior designer does, am I right? However, breathing is probably the most instinctive thing we do as humans + we take over 20,000 breaths a day.
When someone says air quality — most people's minds immediately conjure up pollution in the air outside. Often overlooked + hardly glamorous in residential design (sorry HVAC guys) indoor air quality however is suddenly an integral aspect of home we should consider.
From airborne pathogens that completely altered the way we interact with one another to devastating wildfires that swept across the country, 2020 brought a renewed awareness of indoor air quality.
We expect the air we breathe in our homes to be safe. But, according to the EPA, indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air.
So it begs a few questions, boo…
Is the indoor air quality in our homes good for us? Is what we breathe in harmful to our family? And, how do we improve it?
Why Indoor Air Quality Is Important In Your Home
Understanding + controlling common pollutants is incredibly important for good long-term health. But there’s a caveat. “Most of the things that cause problems in your home are odorless. So, in many cases there's nothing to alert you to the problem" said Dr. Nicholas BuSaba, a professor at Harvard Medical School.
Compound Dr. BuSaba’s comments with research from the Total Exposure Assessment which found that despite the obvious benefits of nature, as humans, we are spending more than 90% of our time indoors *yikes!*
Not to mention, many studies have also found that “when people are exposed to high concentrations of VOCs or CO2 — cognition, memorization, and decision making were all negatively impacted.”
Alright, now that I’ve hit you with the cold hard facts — it should be very easy to see why indoor air quality is important in your home.
And while all of this research is incredible because it not only highlights the fact that breathing quality indoor air is critical for good health but it also emphasizes the significant time + energy we should be dedicating in terms of creating a home.
How might the quality of the air in our homes not only change but have a direct impact on our health + wellbeing based upon the furniture we purchase, appliances we cook with, chemicals we clean with, or even how we build or remodel our homes?
Do we know that the fabrics we purchase for our furniture off-gas? For how long?
Are we certain we have adequate ventilation for that gorgeous new gas cooktop?
Even though the house cleaners routinely clean, are the chemicals they use to disinfect safe for kids, pets or the environment?
What are the health implications of living through a remodel?
Carpet, even new, may trap pollutants and allergens +
Whether you realize it or not my friend, our choices we make when it comes to home, have long term implication on our health, our happiness, our emotional wellbeing, our safety + our overall longevity
Now I agree, these are some seriously intense questions, and with over 900 indoor pollutants possible (trust me, there are dozens more) it should be cause for us to start thinking differently about the things we do in our home...
And yet, these are questions that many of us have never really taken the time to consider.
I bet by now you’re all like… alright Sherri this is insane, And it is … it’s a lot to consider :) But the value we place on the things we purchase + ultimately how we live is what makes creating a home special.
So… now that we’re aware of the importance of indoor air quality in our homes.
What we’re left asking ourselves is how can we not only be less bad (i.e. reduce exposure from high concentrations of indoor pollutants) but do more good (i.e. improve indoor air quality in our home)?
A Myth About House Plants
At Elegant Simplicity, we’re always going to keep it real.
Well, I’ve noticed lately that a ton of heavy hitters in the home industry are pushing the idea that houseplants are a way to filter air — spoiler alert: they're not!
While designing your home with biophilic principles will absolutely help maximize your health + wellbeing in other areas (see these blog posts we’ve written here, here + here) indoor plants aren’t a significant contributor of air purification in our homes.
In fact, Michael Waring, an indoor air quality expert + professor at Drexel University looked at data from the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology + what he found was surprising.
“Plants, though they do remove VOCs, remove them at such a slow rate that they can’t compete with the HVAC systems already prevalent in our homes,” says Waring. “To reduce VOCs enough to impact air quality would require around 10 plants per square foot.”
Let’s do some easy math + assume you have a 5,000 square foot home + with 10 plants per square foot you’d be looking at roughly 50,000 indoor plants :) That’s quite the forest you have there my friend :)
How To Improve Indoor Air Quality In Your Home
I thought you’d never ask *wink*.
While it's probably not possible to eliminate ALL the pollutants + allergens inside your home, making simple changes that reduce many of them will greatly improve the indoor air quality in your home.
Keep Your Home Clean
This one is a double bladed sword?!?! I think that’s how you’re supposed to use that analogy LOL. Nevertheless, frequent cleaning of the surfaces in your home as well as vacuuming will help to reduce pollutants. However, remember earlier when I said the goal with improving your indoor air quality isn’t to be less bad but to do more good?
Well, using environmentally friendly cleaners will help with the toxicity + pollutants that can come with using harsh chemical cleaners in your home.
Most of us have house cleaners so it’s incredibly important to not only have the conversation about how to treat your floors, countertops or furniture for the durability of your investment but also to improve the indoor air quality in your home.
Introduce Fresh Air
This may sound simple but from time to time, especially when it’s practical (i.e. no wildfires, low pollen levels, or it’s not the dead of winter), opening windows + doors for ventilation is a quick way to introduce fresh air + improve the air in your home.
Circulate Air
John is a stickler about the HVAC system in our home circulating air (all year long) for at least 10-20 minutes every hour. Which I have to be honest is quite a bone to pick with me come mid-winter when it’s snowing outside but doing this helps to reduce particles in the air + maintains constant air flow. One point for #TeamJohn
Add A Humidifier
Speaking of winter, a great way to keep the air from getting dry + to maintain a healthy indoor air quality –– which leads to healthier skin, better sleep, fewer allergies and even protection of your furniture –– is to add a humidifier to your HVAC system. One of the best benefits is it will not only improve your air quality but it will make your home feel warmer too #WinWin
Use A Dehumidifier
Speaking of humidifiers, in some instances adding a dehumidifier which works to reduce excess moisture + humidity in the air can also help maintain an indoor air quality clear from not only a musty smell but mold, mildew + dust prevention in your home.
Use High-Quality Air Filters — Change Them Often
Obviously changing filters is dependent upon how often your HVAC system is being used — but typically the best scenario, especially for those with allergies, is to change them frequently. For the best indoor air quality, we recommend changing them every 30 days.
Always Use Your Bath Fan
Alright, I’m pretty sure John is somewhere chuckling right now, because he knows how much I h-a-t-e noisy bath fans! In fact, if I have a pet peeve as an interior designer — this is at the top of my list. So boo, if you’re anything like me when it comes to pet peeves + have a noisy bath fan you should probably swap it out. Bath fans are fantastic for extracting air from your home which is why I recommend leaving them on as much as possible. Yes, there are whisper quiet fans out there :)
Psst. Another secret about bath fans is to have them connected to a moisture detecting sensor switch so whenever it senses humidity the fan automatically kicks on (even if you're not using the bathroom or when you’re not home). One point for #TeamSherri!
Be Mindful Of The Kinds Of Scented Home Goods You Keep
As a designer, I’m a huge sucker when it comes to good diffusers or even scented candles but did you know that they may actually do more harm than you’re hoping. Some of these home good items contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can be harmful to you + your family.
To avoid these harmful chemicals — purchase candles that are 100% beeswax or vegetable based waxes with cotton wicks.
Invest In Kitchen Ventilation
Kitchen ventilation isn’t just for those occasional bone-headed moments when you burn the bacon or completely forget about the garlic bread that's broiling in the oven (hey there NaNa) In fact, the range hood does more than just remove moisture or odors that come about when cooking. They actually suck out contaminated air from your kitchen + hopefully, fingers crossed, vent it outdoors.
I say hopefully because not all kitchens are designed with ductwork to vent to the exterior. That said, investing in a high-quality range hood + using it while cooking is extremely important, especially if you have a gas range. In fact, check this out –– in one study of California homes, more than half of the reviewed homes had pollutant indoor air quality that exceeded levels of outdoor pollution *gasp!!* That’s more than crazy right?!
Fortunately, a couple of things you can do to help improve indoor air quality when it comes to the kitchen is 1) start by cooking on the back burners + 2) use the highest fan setting, even if it’s noisy, to extract as much of the air pollutants as possible.
You see, when it comes to our homes –– safety is the ultimate luxury!
And while you might think of safety as simply securing your home with an alarm system or installing the highest quality windows + doors, when it comes to the safety of our children and our family the ultimate luxury is actually camouflaged in the things you cannot see. It’s the pollutants in our home.
So after reading all about WHY indoor air quality in your home is important + ways that you can improve it, the question becomes
do you want to choose to stay in the darkness + pretend like it doesn’t exist or
do you want to step into a place of enlightenment where you can proactively change the quality of your everyday environment?
Either way boo, I’m all about self-improvement so I know what my answer will be. But promise me that the next time you hire an interior designer –– they better not just be good at picking out the pretty *wink*
And there you have it...everything you need to know about indoor air quality! And don’t forget, if you’re in the preliminary planning stages of your next project, let’s chat.
P.S. If you loved this article then you’re going to really enjoy the 4 Days To A More Beautiful + Functional Home.