Want to learn how to purify your home from unwanted indoor pollution so that you can breathe cleaner air? Well let us tell you, you've come to the right place: from making simple switches to your cleaning products to improving the airflow in your home, discover how to purify your space with the help of Grazia and Healthy(ish) columnist Susannah Taylor...
What Simple Switches Can I Do To Purify My Home?
Keeping your house clean is always a good place to start when it comes to purifying your home. Grazia's Healthy(ish) columnist Susannah Taylor says, 'I feel it’s important to keep my house clean to get rid of dust, bacteria and general dirt that can build up. I’m not the sort of person to follow people around my house with a cloth and a cleaning spray, but I do like it to be relatively clean. A simple way to reduce your interaction with chemicals in your home is to commit to using natural cleaning products.'
You may not realise it, but your shoes can also bring in all kinds of unwanted bacteria and pollution from the outdoors into your home. So, another simple lifestyle switch you can implement is to leave your footwear in the porch when you come home. Keep a shoe-rack or basket near your front door so you remember to take them off, and have your slippers nearby to wear.
Should I Open The Windows In My Home?
Opening the windows can actually be counter-productive when it comes to home purification, because whilst you'll be letting fresh air in, you could also be letting in outdoor pollution such as pollen particles, and even some vehicle fumes if you live near a main road.
To capture this pollution from your indoor air, we recommend getting an air purifier for your home, like Dyson's Pure Hot + Cool Advanced Technology purifying fan heater. This must-have essential automatically senses unwanted particles and gases in your indoor air, and captures 99.95% of these microscopic allergens and pollutants.¹ Then, the unique Air Multiplier™ technology delivers up to 290 litres of purified air per second throughout the whole room, essentially doing all of the hard work for you. Plus, it has a smart heating and cooling fan which could come in handy should we have another hot summer. It also has built-in voice control and Wi-Fi connectivity to make your life that little bit easier. Talk about a do-it-all product.
What Plants Are Good For Purifying My Home?
A study by NASA found that some 'plants can play a major role in removal of organic chemicals from indoor air'², so having them around your home is a brilliant way to purify the air. In addition, a 2010 study from the American Society for Horticultural Science proved that ferns removed more formaldehyde from the air than any other plant.³ Susannah says, 'the only downside of these plants is that they can be slightly tricky to maintain (you are meant to feed them weekly and spray the leaves) and mine is definitely not as green as it should be.
'Another that I have at home is a rubber plant which can really tolerate the shade (I have one in my bathroom away from the window and it seems very happy despite my lack of watering it), and the NASA study states that it’s one of the best air purifying plants². Similarly, a relatively low maintenance plant is the Kentia Palm, which is the one with tall palm tree like leaves. This has the ability to totally transform a space. It can tolerate a low light level but is best near the windows.'
Should I Be Lighting Candles?
As aesthetically pleasing as candles are, if you truly want to purify your home, you should trade in your standard candle for an eco-friendly soy one. Why? Well, soy candles burn cleaner and thus produce less soot than standard paraffin candles. In turn, this can reduce the amount of indoor airborne pollution in your home.
Susannah says, 'the British government have recently launched an initiative that clamps down on home air pollution. Environmental secretary Michael Gove has stated that manufacturers of toxic products - including scented candles - are being told to reduce emissions.'⁴ However, if you're candle-obsessed, then you should invest in an indoor air purifier to help tackle all of the unwanted pollutants that lit candles produce.
Discover more about Dyson's indoor purifier offering, including the Pure Hot + Cool Advanced Technology, here. You can also head down to the Dyson Demo store in Oxford Street to learn more.
¹Tested for filtration efficiency at 0.1 microns (EN1822).
²NASA Study, Interior Landscape Plants For Indoor Air Pollution Abatement, 1989.
³Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, American Society for Horticultural Science.
⁴https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-world-leading-plan-to-tackle-air-pollution