{"id":821169,"date":"2026-07-24T16:04:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T16:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/821169\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T16:04:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T16:04:48","slug":"simple-steps-for-improving-indoor-air-quality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/821169\/","title":{"rendered":"Simple steps for improving indoor air quality"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"has-block-animation has-fly-in-animation\">While wildfire smoke, power plant emissions, and vehicle exhaust fumes are well-known contributors to poor outdoor air quality\u2014and heightened risk of respiratory problems and chronic diseases\u2014sources of poor indoor air quality are less-recognized as causes for concern, experts say. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/hsph.harvard.edu\/profile\/joseph-g-allen\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Joseph Allen<\/a> was among those quoted on the topic in a July 15 CNET article.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-block-animation has-fly-in-animation\">\u201cHundreds of thousands of lives have been saved [because of the Clean Air Act],\u201d said Allen, professor of exposure assessment science and director of Harvard\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/healthybuildings.hsph.harvard.edu\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Healthy Buildings<\/a> program. \u201cBut that is solely about outdoor air pollution. Our indoor air pollution has continued to worsen. We do not have a Clean Indoor Air Act.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-block-animation has-fly-in-animation\">The article noted that outdoor air pollution can seep into homes. And items inside the home\u2014gas-burning appliances, household chemicals, furnishings that off-gas\u2014can make the air inside homes unhealthy, as can biological contaminants such as pollen and mold spores.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-block-animation has-fly-in-animation\">To improve indoor air, Allen recommended using an air purifier with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter to remove particulates from indoor air, as well as using a MERV 13 filter for HVAC systems.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-block-animation has-fly-in-animation\">Other steps recommended by experts quoted in the article included:<\/p>\n<p>Be aware of household products that contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as personal care products, cleaning products, and paints. Use them sparingly and ventilate, especially when painting.<\/p>\n<p>If you have a gas oven, be sure to turn on your range hood if it exhausts outdoors.<\/p>\n<p>To remove particles on surfaces, vacuum regularly with a filtered vacuum cleaner and dust with a damp cloth using low-toxicity cleaners.<\/p>\n<p>To prevent pollutants from building up inside, regularly open windows, turn on kitchen or bathroom fans that exhaust outdoors, and use window or attic fans.<\/p>\n<p>Read the CNET article:<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-block-animation has-fly-in-animation\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnet.com\/home\/kitchen-and-household\/we-dont-have-clean-indoor-air-act-are-air-purifiers-answer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">We Don\u2019t Have a Clean Indoor Air Act. Are Air Purifiers the Answer?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Learn more:<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-block-animation has-fly-in-animation\"><a href=\"https:\/\/healthybuildings.hsph.harvard.edu\/tools\/air-cleaner-calculator\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Portable Air Cleaner Sizing Tool<\/a> (Harvard Healthy Buildings program)<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-block-animation has-fly-in-animation\"><a href=\"https:\/\/healthybuildings.hsph.harvard.edu\/diy-air-cleaners\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Do-It-Yourself Portable Air Cleaners<\/a> (Harvard Healthy Buildings program)<\/p>\n<p>\nLast Updated<\/p>\n<p>Get the latest public health news<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-block-animation has-fly-in-animation\">Stay connected with Harvard Chan School<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While wildfire smoke, power plant emissions, and vehicle exhaust fumes are well-known contributors to poor outdoor air quality\u2014and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":821170,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,75,128],"class_list":["post-821169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=821169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821169\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/821170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=821169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=821169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=821169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}