Indoor Air Quality: The Hidden Pollution in Your Home

Indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air, according to the EPA.The average person spends 90 percent of their time indoors, making household air quality a critical health factor.Common indoor pollutants include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from paint and furniture, formaldehyde from pressed wood products, nitrogen dioxide from gas stoves, mold spores from moisture, and particulate matter from cooking.Gas stoves alone produce NO2 levels that exceed outdoor standards in 40 percent of homes with poor ventilation.

Solutions include switching to electric induction cooking, using range hoods that vent outside, choosing low-VOC paints and materials, maintaining humidity between 30–50 percent, and running HEPA air purifiers in bedrooms.Houseplants have minimal measurable effect on VOCs despite popular belief—you would need hundreds per room to match the filtration of a single air purifier.The most impactful change is ventilation: opening windows when outdoor AQI is below 50 and using mechanical ventilation with filtration during polluted periods..