5 Ways to prevent indoor air pollution

Tips for preventing pollution in the room

Perhaps you and other family members feel safe indoors, protected by walls and other barriers from the threat of air pollution.

In fact, after being from outside, especially in areas where the air is polluted, air pollutants stick to your body and reduce the quality of the air in the house.

Starting from cigarette smoke, household cleaning agents that can trigger allergic reactions, to air filters in homes that are not cleaned.

Therefore, maintaining air quality at home is a must. At least this can prevent the level of pollution in the room from getting higher.

Here are some ways to keep indoor air pollution from getting worse.

1. Do not smoke in the room

Smoking indoors not only harms active smokers, but also passive smokers.

In fact, the harmful compounds in cigarette smoke can also stick to home furnishings. As a result, the possibility of this compound being inhaled by all family members at home is quite large.

This condition is very often found in smokers who smoke in their own homes. This makes other family members who are not near smokers at the time, exposed to cigarette smoke pollutants.

According to a study from Maternal and Child Health Journal , children who suffer from asthma and live with smokers tend to be in the passive smoking category.

As a result, most of the children reported experiencing asthma symptoms during the past 2 weeks.

Therefore, smoking indoors is not recommended because it will only worsen the air quality at home.

One way to prevent indoor pollution is to stop smoking indoors.

That way, the risk of you and other family members becoming passive smokers decreases and makes the air quality at home better.

2. Using the air conditioner

The use of air conditioning in the room can actually be one way to prevent the increase in air pollution levels in your home.

By using air conditioning, you can occasionally close the ventilation in order to reduce the level of contamination from the outside air.

In addition, there are several benefits that you can get from using air conditioning to improve air quality at home.

Maintain the humidity level in the room.
Cleanses the air by reducing pollutants and allergens.
Maintain the temperature in the room, whether you want to feel warm or cold.

However, keep in mind that regularly cleaning the air conditioner at least every 3-6 months is something that should be considered.

If your air conditioner is rarely cleaned and maintained, it will certainly cause health problems for people in the room, such as asthma and allergies.

Instead of improving air quality, an unkempt air conditioner will only spread dust and pollen.

In fact, the air filter in the air conditioner also contains moisture, so the potential for mold growth can occur and spread it in your room.

So that you can reduce the level of pollution in the room, don't forget to clean your air conditioner regularly.

3. Reducing the use of air freshener

Source: The Mercury News

For some people, the use of air freshener is often mandatory because they are worried that the smell brought from the outside air can interfere with their smell.

Air fresheners can make your home smell better, but they are actually detrimental to the air quality in your home.

According to an article from the journal Building and Environment , air freshener contributes to a high level of air pollution.

This can occur through direct spray results to the reaction of the product ingredients in it.

The use of this tool has a strong relationship with increasing levels of terpenes in the house, such as benzene, toluene, and other volatile organic compounds.

Indeed, the effect will not be immediately detected and even difficult to detect. However, it would be much better if you don't use air freshener at home too often.

4. Putting pollutant absorbent plants

Source: Phil-Amy Florist

In 1989, NASA discovered that laying down plants can help absorb toxins from the air, especially in confined spaces with little ventilation.

Plants that can be placed indoors are believed to be more effective than air purifiers because they are more economical and natural.

NASA also recommends placing two or three plants at a distance of 20-25 cm. In fact, this natural plant also absorbs chemical compounds that come from household furniture, such as:

Carpet
Oven
Home cleaning products
Glue

However, you certainly need to choose types of plants that are easy to care for indoors and will survive indoors, namely:

Paris lilies (Chlorophytum comosum) or spider plants that can absorb xylene and formaldehyde compounds. You only need to water this plant 2-3 times a week.
Suji plant included in plants that can prevent air pollution in your room because it absorbs harmful compounds, such as formaldehyde and xylene.
Chrysanthemum plant absorbs the same harmful chemical compounds as suji and paris lilies.

From now on, choose plants that can prevent pollution in the room so that you can nourish other family members.

5. Control indoor allergens

In addition to placing ornamental plants as a way to prevent indoor pollution from increasing, you may also need to control allergens as well so that air quality is guaranteed.

Allergens are foreign compounds that can cause allergic reactions when they are in a person's body. These foreign compounds can spread in the air and stick to the furniture and floors of your home.

Allergens can come from anywhere, from pets, carpets, mattresses, to your own blankets.

One of the ways to control allergens is to eliminate the triggers. However, you need to keep the house clean so that indoor pollution decreases.

Here are some ways to control allergens in the room.

Reducing the use of carpets.
Do not use thick curtains because they will be more difficult to wash and cause more dust to stick.
Cover mattresses, pillows, and bolsters with anti-allergenic sheets.
Clean the vacuum with a vacuum cleaner once or twice a week to prevent allergens from spreading back in the air.
Keep the humidity level of the room, especially the kitchen, stable so that mold does not grow on the walls of your house and causes air quality to deteriorate.

In fact, preventing indoor air pollution is quite easy to do. One requirement, always keep the house clean and humidity in the room to avoid allergens and fungi.