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8 Natural Ways to Purify Air at Home
Are you suffering from breathing problems such as Asthma? Did you know that the very air that you breathe at home causes these problems?
According to studies conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency, the air you breathe at home can be up to 5 times more polluted than outdoors. This can lead to illnesses, Asthma, headache, stress, and even digestive problems. Your indoor air can be polluted due to several reasons:
- Smoking
- Cleaning
- Dust due to renovations
- Dangerous gases like carbon monoxide emitted due to faulty appliances
- Paints
- Household cleaners
It is important that you learn how to make your home safe for you and your family. While you do not intend to bring pollutants inside your home, it is not entirely unavoidable. Before following our natural methods of purifying the indoor air, you need to follow the below steps to improve the air quality.
1. Keep Your Home Clean
The first step might sound pointless, but you will regularly see a difference in your environment when you clean your home regularly. Not dry dusting and lifting the dust particles, but vacuuming or at least cleaning with a wet cloth or sponge. You must clean your floor and the much-neglected spaces like your walls, windows, upholstered furniture, etc.
As for sheets, ensure that you change them every week. By this time, dust mites and allergens start finding your sheets their safe haven, and if you are asthmatic, this is when you get your attacks. Also, clean the air filters in the air conditioner, heater, vacuum cleaners, etc. clean. Only then would they be able to function effectively.
Another point to be considered is the carpets. Carpets trap dust and pollutants. And most importantly, the manufacturing process of carpets releases VOCs, which continue even after installing them, especially in the beginning.
2. Improve Indoor Ventilation
Another simplest thing you could do is to open your windows as the next step. This alleviates the pollutants present inside your home and improves your air quality inside your home. Make it a point to open your windows just 5 minutes daily. It's enough to ventilate your home and bring new air within.
If you are in a place where everything freezes in winter, install trickle vents to purify the air. Exhaust fans are also an option, especially in the kitchen, contributing to the major part of indoor pollution.
Also, remember to let the steam out after showering in hot water. It helps to reduce the formation of mould and mildew.
3. Leave Your Shoes Outside
Make it a point to leave your shoes outside. Who knows what gets on your shoes and the toxins that you bring inside. Experts say that your shoes bring in coal tar, pesticides, pollen, cigarette ash, industrial toxins, wood smoke, and not to mention faeces. You are bringing all the toxins inside your home, especially if you have a carpet. Your carpet is soaking everything, particularly the area right near the doorstep. Use a doormat and leave your shoes at the door. This helps to keep your floor and the air inside cleaner.
4. Place Activated Charcoal Throughout Your Home
Charcoal has air-purifying effects and is known to remove toxins in the air. It has been used in water filters and air filters for the purification process. Its effects are so popular that it is also present in beauty products. Charcoal is an odourless, porous material that helps eliminate bacteria, allergens, and harmful germs from the air by trapping them inside it.
Place activated charcoal bags throughout your home. You can make these bags yourself. Add some activated bamboo charcoal to a linen bag or pouches and place them in strategic places inside the home.
5. Use a Salt Crystal Lamp
Salt products have been known to reduce the toxins present in the environment they are in. They do it by pulling the moisture out of the atmosphere they are in. Among all the salt products, the Himalayan pink salt lamp works the best. They have a beautiful rustic touch and emit soft light. They work the best when switched on, but they always need not be so. Their presence is enough for a room.
6. Create an Indoor Garden with Houseplants
If you have a green thumb, you can use mother nature's best air purifiers, air-purifying plants. Air purifying plants inherently cleans the atmosphere of toxins like benzene, formaldehyde, and also ammonia. Many studies have also proven the same. Ensure that you have a plant every 100 sq. ft. of your home.
You can opt for air-purifying plants like the snake plant, spider plant, peace lily, Boston fern, and bamboo palm.
7. Light a Beeswax Candle
Another natural way to purify your home is to light beeswax candles inside your home. They work by neutralizing the positive ions present inside. A pure beeswax candle burns for a long time without any smoke or ash. Hence it is perfect for asthmatic family members. They also remove common toxins and allergens from the home environment.
8. Burn Essential Oils
Essential oils can be powerful, and when used properly, you can rid your home of allergens and common toxins. They offer a natural and holistic approach to clean the air inside your home. Essential oils like rosemary, tea tree, cinnamon, oregano, lemon, tea tree, and oregano help to eradicate bacteria, fungi, and mould. Thieves oil, which is a blend of several essential oils, kills about 99.96% of airborne bacteria.
To use these essential oils, add a few drops of the oil to a bowl of warm water. Place it inside your rooms to cleanse them.
Top Natural Air Purifiers You Can Use in Your Home to Breathe Easy
If you are someone looking for ways to purify your air naturally, the following are for you. Here are a few air purifiers made from naturally occurring ingredients.
Vayu Natural - Air Purifying Bag
Vayu Natural Air Purifying Bags is a simple and efficient way to purify the air in your home. The bags are made by a 3-layer technology and help you clean your air of pollutants, harmful bacteria, mould, allergens, unpleasant smells, etc. The fabric is interlaced with activated charcoal and significantly more powerful than traditional charcoal bags.
Priced at Rs. 809, for 500 gm, the bags contain eco-friendly polyurethane filters, which hold the dust, smoke, and other allergy-inducing particles. The Vayu Natural Air Purifying Bags are available to buy from Breathe Fresh.
RenewAir Activated Coconut Charcoal
The Activated Coconut Charcoal Natural Air Purifier is essentially coconut-based activated carbon packed in fragrance-free charcoal bags. The natural and organic air purifier is free from BPA and chemicals. The air purifying bag absorbs the allergens and pollutants keeping the environment clean and safe for the family. Costing Rs. 594 for 200 gm, the bags can be used in the rooms, car, wardrobe, and even your fridge. You can buy the child and pet safe bags from Net Meds.
Himalayan Pink Rock Salt Lamp Air Purifier
Cleanse the air and create a soothing environment in your home with the Himalayan Pink Rock Salt Lamp Air Purifier. The salt lamp absorbs the air pollutants and also the water contaminants from the atmosphere. These are perfect for people with Asthma and other breathing troubles. It is also said to increase the energy levels in the body. The salt crystals are placed in a wooden triangle basket. You can purchase it from Amazon India for Rs. 700.
Tortoise Zone Aroma Essential Oil Diffuser
Keep your home smelling heavenly while purifying the air with the Tortoise zone Aroma Essential Oil Diffuser. Add water to the diffuser as instructed and mix a few drops of essential oil. The beautiful aroma of the essential oil fills in the room as long as the diffuser works. You can program it to last the entire night or put it to auto-sleep mode. It also has a colour-changing mood lighting with six colours to create a relaxing ambience in the room. You can buy the Tortoise Zone Aroma Essential Oil Diffuser from Flipkart for Rs. 440.
Air Purifier and Oxygen Enriching Plan
Plants are natural and potent air purifiers for your home. As long as you have a green thumb, the plants purify the air and remove the pollutants inside your home/room. The Air Purifier and Oxygen enriching Plants set from Nursery Live consists of peace lily, snake plant, areca palm, aloe vera, and money plant in grower round plastic pots. The plants are also decorated with white pebbles. These plants not just remove the toxins from the air but also help to lower background noise. It is available to buy from Nursery Live for Rs. 1,290.
Reborn Beeswax Candle
Beeswax candles not just creates a calm and relaxing ambience in your home, it also purifies the environment. The Reborn Beeswax Candle is 100% beeswax hence lasts long and doesn't go rancid. There is no smoke or soot but contains fragrance due to the essential oil mixture. With a dimension of 12x7 cm, the candle comes in repurposed beer bottles. It costs Rs. 750 and is available to buy from QTrove.
Try Your Hand At Making These DIY Air Purifiers
If you are more of a DIY person, here are some simple DIY air purifiers for you. They are simple to make even for a beginner.
DIY Air Freshener Spray
Would you believe that the air fresheners you buy have enough chemicals to pollute the air indoors? And it just masks the odour and not removes it. Here is an all-natural Air Freshener spray for that pleasant smelling home.
Ingredients
- Witch hazel - 1 tbsp (You can also use rubbing alcohol)
- Essential Oil - 30 drops
- Distilled Water - ½ cup
- Fine-Mist Spray Bottle - 4oz
How To Make
- Add the witch hazel and the essential oil to the spray bottle.
- Swirl the bottle gently to combine the ingredients (at least 10 times).
- Add water to the mix, leaving room for shaking.
- Shake vigorously. Your natural air freshener is ready.
DIY Room Diffuser
Oil diffusers are a fantastic way to make your home smell pleasant while purifying the air. Instead of spending precious money on the diffusers, you can make one for a fraction of the cost.
Ingredients
- Essential Oil - 20-25 drops
- Unscented Oil - 1/4 cup
- Rubbing Alcohol - 3 tbsp
- Diffuser Reeds/Bamboo Skewers
- Bowl
- Small Funnel
- Small Vase
How To Make
- Add the unscented oil, rubbing alcohol, and essential oil to a bowl and mix.
- Pour the contents into the vase using a small funnel until 3/4th of the bottle.
- Place 3 to 6 bamboo skewers in the vase. The skewers should extend just 4 inches or slightly more than that above the vase. Cut off the rest.
- Check the oil mixture every month and top it off if needed.
5 Reasons Why You Must Purify Air Naturally
An average person spends more than 60% of their time at home. The outdoor air is polluted depending on your location, and the indoor air might even be worse at places. Often we lock everything up to protect it from the outdoor pollutants that we neglect to ventilate for the air to circulate. If you are among the few who think you are protected since you lock everything up, this is for you.
- If you are breathing in the polluted air indoors, you are susceptible to Asthma, allergies, Emphysema, cardiovascular diseases, headache, stress, etc.
- Polluted air can reduce energy levels. The reason is your respiratory system works hard to oxygenate your blood. The extra energy needed makes your body work harder, thereby reducing your energy levels. This impacts your life and the ability to fulfil the responsibilities.
- Breathing clean air helps your brain stay alert and active. This brings about a change in your professional life and personal life while helping you to stay energetic.
- When your children breathe in the contaminated air, their organs' development is disrupted, especially the respiratory system. They are also susceptible to breathing disorders like Asthma.
- Pet hair, fur, and feathers are another annoyance you'd have to deal with if you have pets, but what if we tell you that unless you are allergic, these are not the most troubling reason. The pet dander, tiny bits of shedding skin invisible to the naked eye, causes all the trouble. Unless you vacuum your home and purify it naturally, pet dander is the major cause of indoor air pollution.
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Are Natural Air Purifiers Enough?
You can easily access the data on pollution levels with a mere online search, so the crucial question to answer here is, are natural air purifiers really enough to tackle air pollution in your home, at least? Well, the answer is not an objective one as research has proven that having plants in your home is able to purify air to a significant extent; however, not everyone can have so many plants installed in our homes; moreover, these natural ways may require maintenance than anticipated though they are one of the cheapest options available that can help purify the air in your home. Hence, you can look to buy some electronics as well if budget is not a constraint, along with these natural remedies to make the purifying process more robust, as, after all, it's yours and your loved ones' well-being you're dealing with!