To reduce chemical exposure, choose clothing which does not need dry cleaning. If items must be dry cleaned, air treated items outside for a couple of hours before bringing them indoors. This will allow the cleaning chemicals to off-gas outside, thereby reducing chemical exposure in the living environment.

According to research published in the journal “Hortscience”, employees who worked in office environments providing either live indoor plants or window views of green spaces reported a better overall quality of life and job satisfaction than those whose office environments were without both plants and window views.

A new report by the US-based Centre for Health, Environment and Justice states that new PVC shower curtains may contain toxic chemicals including volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), phthalates and metals. More than 100 of these chemicals were found to be released from the curtains into the air inside homes where they contributed to indoor air pollution. Some VOC’s were still being detected in the air 28 days after one curtain was unwrapped and hung.

To reduce the growth of mould, which may be associated with adverse health effects including fatigue and respiratory symptoms, eliminate the source of moisture which is encouraging mould growth. This means ensuring that rooms are well ventilated and promptly cleaning up flooded areas and fixing leaking pipes and broken spouting and down pipes as soon as they are identified.