We breathe it in every day, but the air in our homes may not be as clean as we think. It’s actually 2-3 times more toxic and polluted than the air we breathe outside.
We focus so much on things like eating right and exercise which are good things, but we forget about the actual thing we can’t live without: air. In order to live healthy lives, we need to take care of arguable the biggest thing that gives us life.
There can be many signs of poor air quality that we don’t even realize like rashes, headaches, allergies, and more serious symptoms like asthma.
This is the result of toxins and pollutants in the air. These toxins can come from common things like perfumes, (which are full of chemicals) tobacco smoke, dust, mold, asbestos, and some not so common things you may not have thought of like gas emissions from paint, household cleaners, and even electric motors. (Source)
There’s so much crap going into the air we breathe! And it’s doing us so much harm. But instead of spraying the air with febreeze or another traditional spray, opt for a natural way to clean the air in your home. Because fighting pollutants with pollutants never works.
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How to clean the air in your home naturally:
1. Use natural candles –
If it’s from bath and body works or Yankee candle, it shouldn’t be in your house. Sorry, not sorry. Traditional candles are loaded with nothing but chemicals and fake fragrances. My head hurts just thinking about them.
You may think it’s a good idea to freshen up your home with a scented candle but please think again.
Read: the 10 most toxic things in your home
Opt for something made of soy wax, coconut wax, or beeswax that’s scented with natural elements like essential oils.
2. Use an essential oil diffuser –
Essential oils like tea tree have natural antibacterial properties which is why I love using it in skincare and my cleaning recipes.
It also can reduce air-born bacteria when infused in an infuser! Plus it makes your house smell lovely and who doesn’t love that.
*If you’re a pet owner, do your research. There are too many horror stories involving animals and essential oils.
3. Clean with non-toxic products –
A surefire way to eliminate the toxins in the air is to reduce the number of chemicals it gets exposed to. Like traditional bathroom and kitchen cleaners that are erosive and dangerous to breathe in enclosed spaces. (Hint: if there’s a giant warning label or skull on the product, it’s probably not a good idea to use it)
Read: The ultimate list of zero waste, non-toxic cleaning recipes
4. Use an air purifier –
Yes, those exist and they do exactly what they say they do, purify the air. They take out a lot of harmful pathogens circulating in the air every day.
5. Plants –
Plants are a wonderful way to not only decorate and brighten up your space but certain plants can actually draw toxins out of the air!
Humans breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide, whereas plants absorb light and carbon dioxide. Remember photosynthesis from middle school science? (yeah, me neither honestly)
Plants also make something called phytochemicals that protect the plant from threats like bugs and diseases.
They can also absorb many household toxins like carbon dioxide, benzene which is found in plastics and cigarette smoke, and formaldehyde which is found in detergents, cleaners, and cosmetics.
Plants are so cool and there are so many benefits to owning them!
A few of many favorites for air quality control are: *If you have pets, please do your research to see what is and isn’t safe for your fur babies.
- Spider plant
- English Ivy
- Snake plant
- Aloe vera
6. Open your windows –
Simple, but effective. The reason the air in our homes gets so toxic is, first of all, it’s exposed to a lot of chemicals, and second, there isn’t very much fresh air coming in and circulating around.
Especially when the air gets warmer, leave your windows open for a few hours a day, if not all day! This will dilute and help to eliminate the toxic air by bringing in the fresh air.
Related:
15 things to start making instead of buying
5 ways you can go non-toxic this year
How to use a shampoo bar & why you should make the switch
There are many easy and natural ways you can clean the air in your home! So don’t wait, get to cleaning your air, and breathing better!
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