Four Ways to Purify Indoor Air Naturally

Recently I read on WebMD site that indoor air quality is almost always worse than the air quality outside. It turned out that all the pollutants that float in the air outside eventually make their way inside our homes and office buildings. Yet indoors we have plenty more sources of pollution that add greatly to all the "goodness" we breath in - both at home and at work (where we spend almost 99% - if not 100% - of our time!) Some of the indoor air pollution sources include heaters, bathrooms, gas stoves, carpets, household products and materials used in the building such as asbestos, lead and formaldehyde. In addition to some common sense measures like regular cleaning, proper ventilation, using non-toxic products and installing carbon monoxide detector, I've been using four natural "helpers" in purifying the indoor air. I've mentioned some of them before in my other posts, but I thought I'd do a quick summary of the top four.

• Beeswax Candles

Beeswax candles are usually much more expensive than other waxes. Not only are they natural and don't pollute the air (unlike paraffin candles), they also improve the absorption of oxygen and help purify the air by releasing negative ions. On top of that, beeswax candles minimize histamine response, so burning them help reduce allergy symptoms - hugely important for allergy survivors like myself;-)

• Himalayan Salt Lamps and Candle Holders - 

Do They Really Clean the Air????

 I purchased those candle holders a few years ago and then a few Christmases ago I also received Himalayan salt lamp as a gift. I LOVE the way they look and use them quite often, yet I'm not sure they have anything to do with purifying the air. I did buy into all the claims that are out there at first, but as I was doing more and more research, I realized that none of those claims have any scientific evidence.

• Indoor Plants

Surprise, surprise!;-) No additional comments needed, I guess. I'll just add that I went with Peace Lily - I was told at the nursery it's one of the best air-purifying, yet one of the least light-dependent plants.

• AromaTherapy vs. Perfume Suicide

Scents are an integral part of our life - we "consume" them in a gazillion different forms: perfumes, lotions, cleaning products, plug-ins, personal care and the list goes on. But when those fragrances come in chemical forms they add greatly to the air contamination and cause significant health damage (including cancer). Yet essential oils are used in aromaTHERAPY for a reason - they not only smell great without causing any damage, they also have amazing therapeutic effects. Double win!

• Window Screen Cleaning Spray

The importance of letting some fresh air in regularly is a no-brainer. But when your screens are filled with dust, opening windows may bring about questionable benefits. Washing screens isn't something that we do on a weekly (let alone daily) basis, yet they get dusty much faster than the furniture. My OCD brain always struggled with that "logic", so I came up with a very quick natural DIY window screen spray that I try to use before I open the windows. And it seems like I'm not the only one loving it - so far that DIY post got repinned more than 100K times! That's a lot of noses being "saved"!;-))

Do you have any tips and tricks that help with the indoor air quality? 

I'd love to hear about them!

  About me:

California girl who came to the US from a small town in Russia all by herself and now making her EVERY single dream come TRUE!