Home is where the heart is — but it could also be where your health troubles start.
Americans spend roughly 90% of their time indoors, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. But the air inside your home, office or school may not be as clean as you think it is.
“Air quality indoors can be up to five times worse than air quality outside, which shocks a lot of people,” Dr. Yvonne Burkart, a toxicologist, author and expert on reproductive and endocrine disorders, said in an episode of the podcast The Diary of a CEO. “The reason being that people are not adequately venting their homes.”
Children, older adults and people with heart and respiratory disease are particularly vulnerable to air pollution and they also tend to spend more time indoors than the average person.
Breathing unclean air is linked to a wide range of health risks. Short-term exposure can cause ear, nose and throat irritation, headaches, dizziness and fatigue. More severe, long-term risks include asthma attacks, bronchitis, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, lung cancer and nervous system damage.
“If you want to improve your health, you have to clean up your indoor air,” said Burkart.
So where exactly is all that pollution coming from?
1. Cooking
One major source is cooking, she explained.
While heating food may fill your home with delicious smells, it’s also releasing pollutants into the air. These include combustion gases, like nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde.
In fact, a study from Stanford University suggests that gas and propane stoves account for a staggering amount of exposure to nitrogen dioxide. An estimated 38% of American households use a gas stove, even as several studies have documented their harmful effects.
Purdue University researchers found that they produce up to 100 times more dangerous particles than a car exhaust pipe, increasing the risk of asthma and other respiratory illnesses. They also release benzene, a dangerous chemical linked to leukemia and other blood disorders.
Cooking can also release volatile organic compounds and particulate matter, or PM2.5. PM2.5 is dangerous because it’s microscopic size allows it to slip past the body’s natural defenses, penetrating deep into the lungs and entering the bloodstream.
Of course, cooking is an essential indoor task, so Burkart urges people to consider other ways they might be unknowingly polluting their homes. “We need to prioritize what’s important and what’s not important,” she said.
2. Lighting candles
Your favorite candle could also be releasing pollutants, soot and toxic chemicals into your living room, increasing the risk of respiratory issues and other long-term health concerns.
A 2023 study found that frequent, long-term exposure to certain pollutants from low-quality scented candles in closed spaces was linked to a higher risk of cellular damage and health complications. Some research even suggests that candles may emit toxins when unlit.
For those not ready to give up their candle habit, Burkart advised choosing a “better candle.” That could mean opting for “cleaner,” natural waxes, such as 100% pure beeswax or soy wax, instead of parrafin, and opening the window to improve ventilation.
It’s also advised to limit burn time to no more than four hours.
3. Shoes
Your footwear could also be tracking unwanted pollutants into your home — think pathogenic bacteria and viruses, heavy metals, industrial chemical, pesticides and, of course, poop.
Burkart suggests leaving shoes worn outside the home at the door: “Things that are outside should stay outside.”
“That doesn’t mean you have to go barefoot,” she added. “You can wear slippers, you can wear other shoes that are specifically meant to stay indoors.”
