Researchers at UT Health San Antonio, USA, have demonstrated that improving indoor air quality reduces the symptoms of chemical intolerance. One of their most important recommendations is to create a clean air oasis in your own home to ensure the air that you breathe is as free as possible from smoke, chemicals, fragrances, and other common indoor pollutants.  

The researchers propose seven key steps to creating a clean air oasis in your home.

Step 1: Pick a Room

This should be the room in which you spend most of your time. For many people, this is the bedroom. While you should bring in clean air wherever possible (e.g., by opening windows), you should avoid doing this when pollen, humidity or pollution levels are high.

Step 2: Eliminate Indoor Air Pollutants

You should remove all products that have strong odors including cleaning and laundry products, pesticides, perfume/cologne, scented lotions, deodorants, cosmetics, candles, and air fresheners (even plug-ins and diffusers). You should also avoid aerosol sprays such as hairspray, as their tiny droplets are easily inhaled.

Step 3: Do Not Permit Pets Inside the Oasis

Our pets can trigger asthma, allergies, and other problems, so should not be allowed inside the clean air oasis.

Step 4: Clean Safely

You should only use fragrance-free products for cleaning and doing laundry. It is best to do cleaning and vacuuming when sensitive individuals are not in the immediate area. You should also remember to ventilate during and after cleaning.

Step 5: Avoid Burning Anything Indoors

Smoke and combustion gases can irritate the lungs, so you should not permit smoking, vaping, or burning candles or incense. You should also avoid the use of fireplaces, open-flame gas heaters, and unvented water heaters.

To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, you should never heat your home using a gas stove, gas oven, or Hibachi. Electric stoves and electric heaters, when used properly, are a better health option.

Step 6: Go the Extra Mile

An air purifier with high-efficiency particulate air and charcoal filters can remove some pollutants. You should keep the purifier running while the room is occupied, even overnight, and remember to bring in clean outside air whenever possible. In addition, check and change/clean filters as needed/recommended.

Step 7: Learn More

Finally, many of our choices affect the quality of air that we breathe. So, it is useful to learn how to remove fragrances from fabrics, stop pests without using pesticides, control humidity, and mold, and find safer products for home repair or remodeling. You can find further guidance on this at https://tiltresearch.org/