Indoor air pollution can come from sources you wouldn’t expect — there are many invisible indoor air pollutants that don’t just come from pollution outside. We’ll help you find these invisible pollutants, and keep them out of your home.
Luckily, there are a few things you can do to determine if your air is dirty and to improve it. The first step is figuring out if the pollutants are coming from indoors or outdoors. Once you’ve done that, take steps to remove, block, or redirect the sources. Smaller indoor sources of pollution like cooking can quickly make air quality worse because the air is trapped behind walls and windows. In contrast, larger outdoor sources of air pollution like busy roadways can affect air quality for longer periods of time as dirty air seeps in from outside.
If you have allergies, asthma, or any other respiratory concerns, or if you live with someone very old or very young, or are even just curious about your home’s indoor air quality, you can learn how to measure your air quality at home. Here is how:
To determine the source of indoor air pollution, compare your particle sensor reading with the local EPA air quality station and see if the outside air is better. If so, the source is indoors. Unlike other sensors, the IQAir sensor reports colors consistently. Purple indoors and green outside means an indoor source (i.e. pet hair on the couch or carpet in your living room) and orange indoors and yellow outdoors means that outdoor color is more likely to be coming through a window (i.e. leaves or pollen from a nearby tree).
Particulate matter refers to any solid or liquid particle small enough to remain suspended in the air and is the most prevalent form of air pollution. It is typically measured in at least two sizes: coarse PM10 and fine PM2.5. Large PM10 particles can come from mining operations, brake pads, construction operations, agriculture, or wind erosion. Fine PM2.5 particles are primarily emitted through the combustion of an organic fuel in vehicles, power plants, and wildfires or from chemical pollutants aggregating in the atmosphere
Your body’s tough, but it needs help when it comes to cleaning out dirty air. A particle sensor that detects PM2.5 is the easiest way to know if there is particle pollution present. They cost around $100 and are available at hardware stores and online. You should check with a consumer particle sensor to see if the air quality is bad. If it is, you should do something about it.
Where do indoor particle sources come from? It’s likely cooking, vacuum cleaning, or candles. Humidifiers can also blow these particles around, but they aren’t harmful and so they don’t count as a particle source. Also, you can get rid of them with a good ventilation system by opening windows or turning on the fan above your cooking area. Portable air purifiers are also available to remove particles in the immediate area where you’re cooking.
Air pollution comes from many sources. Indoor air pollutants from carpets and furniture can be mitigated with better weather stripping and a portable air purifier. In extreme outdoor air quality events like wildfire, it is best to keep the air in one room as clean as possible — ideally the bedroom where you sleep. If better weather-stripping is not feasible, any method to seal cracks around windows and doors, such as painter’s tape, could be used in emergencies to keep the smoke out.
