Give Your Home a Breathe-Better MakeoverAir Quality

It's smoggy outside so you run indoors and lock up tight. That's not always the best action to take. Although your home is your haven, your indoor air might be more polluted than the air outside.

The issue: Your eyes, nose and throat burn. You wheeze and cough, feel nauseous and have trouble breathing. You're tired, dizzy and have no co-ordination, suffer headaches and develop unexplained rashes. The problem could be volatile organic compounds (VOCs), chemicals that emit gases. Whether you live in a rural or urban area, concentrations of VOCs are up to 10 times higher indoors than outdoors, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Formaldehyde, a colourless, pungent-smelling gas, for example, is all over your home, found in everything from varnishes and pressed-wood products such as plywood wall panelling, particleboard and fibreboard furniture and cabinetry, to drapes and other textiles.

Another gas, methylene chloride, is found in aerosol spray paints, paint strippers and adhesive removers. Air fresheners, cleaning supplies, disinfectants, caulking and moth repellents also emit a variety of VOCs. From a health-consciousness point of view, constant high levels of exposure to these elements can damage your liver, kidneys and central nervous system, and some are suspected carcinogens in humans.

The solution

• Look for low-VOC paints, like Martha Stewart and CIL's Naturaliving paint.
• Choose flooring made from natural sources such as FSC-certified wood, bamboo or eucalyptus, which are typically more sustainable than synthetic flooring products. If you must use flooring that is glued to the subfloor, look for options with low-emission adhesives, and avoid floor and wall coverings that contain polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is known to emit harmful chemicals into the air.
• When buying furniture and cabinetry, opt for ones with edges that are laminated or coated as unlaminated pressed wood emits more VOCs, and choose ones not made with urea-formaldehyde resins.
• Gas stoves produce nitrogen dioxide. If you have one, use a range hood that vents to the outdoors.

The issue: Itchy, watery eyes, a runny nose, and your asthma and allergies are acting up. The problem might be mould spores, dust, pet dander or pollen that are floating in the air and have entered your home through windows, doors or on your clothes and shoes.

The solution

• Consider an air purifier, which can eliminate up to 99.9 percent of airborne pollutants.
• Buy a vacuum with a HEPA or High Efficiency Particle Arrestor filter, which will trap dust mites and mould spores.
• Use a central-vac system, which vents dirt outside.
• Dust mites love fabric surfaces so use dust-mite covers on your mattress, pillows and box springs.
• Make sure to clean your window blinds frequently as they can be dust traps, or opt for drapes that can be washed.
• Install dust filters on the return-air side of the furnace to protect ductwork from dust build-up.
• If your house is damp, invest in a dehumidifier that will draw excess moisture from the air as those nasty mites and moulds can't survive in dry environments.