When most people think of air quality, they tend to think of the outdoor air pollution. And while there are plenty of allergens and pollutants the air outside, many people never really stop to consider the number of things that could be having a negative impact on the quality of the air inside their living and work spaces. Just run a quick internet search for indoor air quality facts and you may be shocked to discover all the things that could be preventing you and your family from breathing easy indoors. In some extreme cases, the quality of the air indoors can actually be worse the quality of outdoor air. This can be especially troublesome and worrisome for allergy sufferers!

Homeowners, apartment dwellers, and office workers can unknowingly contribute to making the indoor quality of air worse than it needs to be. Often times, people may not even realize that many of the physical symptoms they’re experiencing such as runny eyes and nose, stuffy sinuses, sneezing, itchy eyes and skin, troubling breathing, and more are actually caused by the poor indoor air quality in their living and work spaces. Remember, just because you’re indoors, doesn’t mean the quality of the air will be good! It’s important to be diligent and learn ways to improve indoor air quality in order to maintain everyone’s health, including your own.

Here are just a few simple, easy, and no fuss ways you can improve indoor air quality of your living, work, and play spaces so that they’re up to par with modern indoor air quality standards.

Let there be light — and air

It might seem like common sense — but hey, common sense isn’t always very common — but opening a few windows for even just five to ten minutes each day is an excellent and very simple way to dramatically improve indoor air quality. Between car fumes and other forms of outdoor pollution, it’s easy to see why many people assume that the quality of outdoor air is worse than that indoors, but the exact opposite is usually the case. Letting some outdoor breeze into your home helps to reduce the concentration of toxic chemicals that you be unaware of. For example, indoor air quality tends to rapidly decrease when new furniture is brought into the home, walls are painted, flooring is installed, or even when someone is painting their nails! Opening the windows helps these fumes escape.

Get a mold inspection

When it comes to simple ways to improve indoor air quality in your home, at work, or anywhere else, what you don’t know can hurt you when it comes to putting off mold testing or not testing for mold altogether. Mold can’t always been seen with the naked eye, but it can sure be felt in the form of coughing, wheezing, sneezing, difficulty breathing, runny eyes, stuff noses, and itchy skin. Mold thrives in moist, warm, and dark environments such as the bathroom and air conditioner drip pans. In order to prevent mold, it’s important to keep the humidity of any living or work space at no more than 50%. Getting a routine mold inspection is a great way to be proactive about learning know to improve indoor air quality, as it allows you discover and fight mold before it becomes visible.

Don’t use synthetic fragrances

Just because something smells good, doesn’t mean it’s actually good for you. Air fresheners, detergents, dryer sheets, personal care products, and perfumes are all jammed back with synthetic fragrances that do little to nothing to dress the actual cause of bad odor in a space. And while they may smell pleasant to some, their listen of ingredients is anything but pleasant. Many contain cancer causing toxins such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can exacerbate allergies and literally deteriorate a person’s natural sense of smell. In the United States, synthetic fragrances are only tested for safety in terms of skin irritation and not respiratory irritation! A better alternative would be to use essential oils, incense, and natural and organic household products such as baking soda, salt and vinegar to clean.

Don’t be an airhead when it comes to improving indoor air!