0:00

Think of all the things you can

0:02

do in 10 minutes or less. Scroll

0:04

through social media, check your bank balance,

0:06

make a sandwich, or learn about the

0:08

surprising economics behind all these things. The

0:10

Indicator from Plan of Money is a quick

0:13

hit of insight into the economics of business,

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work, and everyday life. Every weekday

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in less than 10 minutes. Listen now to

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the Indicator podcast from NPR. You're listening

0:21

to Life Kit from

0:24

NPR. Hey,

0:27

everybody. It's Marielle Sagara. Not

0:29

too long ago, a report came out about

0:32

gas stoves. When you cook

0:34

with them, they emit pollutants like nitrogen

0:36

dioxide. And the report estimated that about

0:38

13% of current childhood

0:40

asthma cases in the US are

0:43

attributable to gas stove use. Suddenly,

0:46

it seemed like everybody was talking about gas stoves

0:48

and how you really need to be ventilating if

0:50

you have one. And I

0:52

honestly didn't know that. Never thought

0:54

about it. Don't have a fan over my

0:56

stove, and I wasn't opening the window consistently

0:58

when I cooked. I remember thinking,

1:01

oh my god, I've been poisoning myself

1:04

this whole time. Fact

1:06

check? No. However,

1:08

I have probably been exposing myself

1:10

to gases that might exacerbate respiratory

1:12

illness over time. When

1:15

we talk about health risks from the environment,

1:17

things get confusing and overwhelming fast. It's hard

1:19

to know just how big of a deal

1:21

these risks are, and also what

1:24

changes you need to make, and when you're going

1:26

overboard. But that's what we do here at LifeKit.

1:28

We help you figure this stuff out. So

1:31

in this episode, we're going to talk about

1:33

indoor air quality. With the help of researchers,

1:35

we will give you five practical ways to

1:37

improve your air quality at home, including tips

1:40

on how to clean your house, how to

1:42

choose an air filter, and how to test

1:44

your air. A quick

1:46

note here. One thing we're not going to

1:49

talk about in this episode is preventing the

1:51

spread of diseases or airborne viruses like COVID,

1:53

but NPR has done a ton of reporting

1:55

on that, so check it out. Support

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for this NPR podcast and the

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following message come from Amgen, a

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the world's toughest diseases such as

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Board member Dorothy Varen explains

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partners to work with, Visit

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massmutual.com/foundation to learn

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more. When Argentina

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won the World Cup, it meant so much

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to so many people. But there's one person

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in particular for whom it meant

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everything. Soccer legend Lionel

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bilingual podcast series, I explore why.

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Listen now to The Last Cup

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podcast from NPR and Fuduto Studios.

3:28

All right. If you want to improve the indoor

3:30

air quality in your house, one

3:33

of the first things to think about is the pollution

3:35

that's coming from inside. Andrea

3:37

Farrow is an environmental engineering professor

3:39

at Clarkson University and she focuses

3:42

on indoor air quality. She

3:44

says because of the things we

3:46

do in our houses, cooking, cleaning,

3:48

home improvement projects, we

3:50

have lots of pollution sources indoors.

3:54

And if you think about it, the volume

3:56

of air that the pollutants can mix in

3:58

is much smaller indoors than outdoors. So

4:00

if you walk away from this episode with

4:02

one piece of advice, I hope it's this.

4:05

Ventilate. That's right. It

4:07

may seem obvious, but we've got to say it.

4:09

You want fresh air? Open the

4:12

windows. We love a cross breeze. And if

4:14

you have one, maybe in your bathroom or

4:16

over your stove, turn on a fan that

4:18

vents outside. Make a habit of

4:20

this. Especially when you're doing something

4:23

that releases pollutants into the air. A

4:25

very common indoor air polluting activity? Cooking.

4:29

Look, cooking at home is a great choice.

4:31

It's often cheaper and healthier, but it can

4:34

release pollutants and particles into the air. This

4:36

is especially true if you use a gas

4:39

stove, because that means you're burning fossil fuel

4:41

in your house. Jeff

4:43

Brady is a correspondent on NPR's Climate Desk,

4:45

and he's been covering this topic. He

4:48

says, according to health experts, the biggest

4:50

indoor air quality concern with gas stoves

4:52

is nitrogen dioxide. And there is

4:54

some research that shows in homes with gas stoves,

4:56

kids have about a 20% increased risk of developing

5:01

respiratory illness. And

5:03

recently, there was a peer-reviewed study that found that

5:05

more than 12% of

5:07

current childhood asthma in the US is attributable

5:10

to gas stove use. So

5:13

the risk is highest for kids and for people with

5:15

lung diseases. If you're a healthy adult...

5:17

A lot of the researchers and epidemiologists I've

5:19

talked to over the last year and a

5:21

half, I've been covering this story, they say

5:24

you probably don't have a lot to worry

5:26

about, especially if you have one

5:28

of these hoods over your

5:30

range that vents all of those pollutants

5:32

outdoors. If you don't have one of

5:34

those, opening a window could help. The

5:37

experts we talked to said you also

5:39

want to ventilate when you burn things,

5:41

like incense, or when you spray cleaning

5:43

products, or use personal care products that

5:45

create fumes, like nail polish remover, because

5:47

all of those things can pollute the

5:49

air. We do have a caveat here.

5:51

Before you open a window, check the

5:54

outdoor air quality in the place you

5:56

live, because there are lots of pollutants

5:58

outside too. Ozone. fine

6:00

particulates, smoke from wildfires, biological

6:03

pollutants like pollen, and while

6:06

it's important to ventilate in general, you may

6:08

realize that right now you need to close

6:10

your windows. Okay,

6:12

number two. Keep your

6:14

house as dust free as possible. Dust

6:17

is made up of a lot of things. Fibers

6:19

from clothing and rugs, hair,

6:22

dead skin cells. I know, don't

6:24

think I bad it too much. But

6:26

also chemicals, for instance, from

6:28

your shoes. As you walk

6:31

around outside, you're picking up all kinds

6:33

of things on your feet. Some of

6:35

those pollutants include road dust,

6:37

you know, so heavy metals and other

6:39

things that end up in the road,

6:42

and then also pesticides

6:44

from lawn applications or

6:46

other applications. You don't need to

6:48

be licking your floors to ingest this

6:50

stuff. That's right. So, you know, once

6:52

those pollutants are part of the dust,

6:54

you can kick up the dust quite

6:57

easily and breathe it. An

6:59

easy fix? Take off your shoes at the door

7:01

of your house. And hey, bonus,

7:03

when you do this, you're much less likely

7:05

to find yourself on your hands and knees

7:08

scraping a piece of chewed gum off your

7:10

hardwood floor. Type into me. Also,

7:13

dust your home regularly. I think

7:16

the best way is just avoiding

7:18

dry dusting. So if you have

7:21

a damp cloth, that's the best

7:23

because you're not then putting

7:25

the dust back into the

7:27

air. Caro says you should also get

7:30

yourself a good vacuum with a

7:32

HEPA filter if possible. That stands

7:34

for High Efficiency Particulate Air Filter.

7:37

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, those

7:39

can theoretically remove at least 99.97% of

7:41

dust, pollen, mold, bacteria, and many other

7:47

airborne particles. When you're

7:49

cleaning, remember to open a window. And also

7:52

think about what cleaning fluids you're using

7:54

and any potential health risks associated with

7:56

them. Maybe try using vinegar or dish

7:58

soap as a little bit. elbow grease first.

8:01

See if that works. The other

8:03

thing to look for when you're cleaning, and this is our

8:05

number three, is mold. You've

8:08

probably seen it in your bathroom. It can

8:10

also grow on surfaces like drywall and paint

8:12

and even in dust. Nellie

8:14

Brown is a certified industrial hygienist

8:17

and a director of Workplace Health

8:19

and Safety programs at Cornell University.

8:22

Most of the time what draws people's

8:24

attention to the fact that there might

8:26

be a mold issue. It's either some

8:28

type of odor, a moldy

8:30

or musty odor, or they see

8:33

signs of water damage.

8:36

They see floor tiles lifting up

8:38

or wallpaper coming off. They

8:41

see stains coming through drywall or

8:43

showing up on ceiling tiles or

8:45

on ceilings. The problem

8:47

is mold releases spores into the

8:49

air that can cause allergic reactions or

8:51

trigger asthma symptoms. Brown

8:53

says if you have visible mold, your first step

8:55

is to figure out what's causing it. Is there

8:58

a leak under your sink or maybe in your

9:00

ceiling? Where is the moisture coming

9:02

from? You'll want to fix that and

9:04

then figure out how big of a cleanup job you've

9:06

got. The EPA says that if the

9:09

moldy patch is less than 10 square feet,

9:11

so that's about three foot by three foot,

9:13

you can probably handle it yourself. Brown

9:16

says you should also consider where the water

9:18

damage came from before you make repairs.

9:21

If the sources of the water is

9:23

one in which you are

9:25

going to find yourself needing to sue

9:28

someone, a landlord or someone

9:30

did a bad repair on your sewer line

9:33

or something, then you really want

9:35

to have a report from a licensed

9:37

mold inspector before

9:39

you do any remediation work. If

9:42

you do the cleanup yourself, she suggests putting

9:44

on some goggles, rubber gloves, and an N95

9:47

respirator. Then if the mold

9:49

is on a hard surface, scrub it down with dish

9:51

washing soap and water. A lot of

9:53

people think bleach is the answer to everything

9:55

and the reality is all that happens is

9:57

people get more bleach expensive.

10:00

inhalation exposure to it, accidental

10:03

higher skin exposure. It's a

10:05

very harsh material and

10:08

it's usually a lot more than people

10:10

really need. Now the goal here

10:12

is to make sure you're removing the mold. So

10:14

if it's a porous surface like drywall you may

10:16

have to cut out a section and if

10:19

we're talking about something like fabric upholstery you

10:22

just need to throw it out. A lot of

10:24

things you know you just can't salvage. And

10:26

then you can prevent mold in the future

10:28

by keeping your house as dry as possible.

10:31

One tip from Brown, think carefully

10:33

before you get a humidifier. I'm

10:36

always very cautious when people say, wow

10:38

you know it's been such a dry

10:40

winter I'm thinking of adding a humidifier.

10:42

Well here's the problem. If I were

10:44

you I would think about

10:47

how many days of dry weather you

10:49

really think you can't tolerate because the

10:51

problem is when you start

10:53

then adding moisture to the air

10:55

you can end up with condensation

10:57

and start creating mold problems you

10:59

don't want. Alright so while you're cleaning

11:02

surfaces around the house why not

11:04

clean the air too? That's number

11:06

four. Get yourself an air cleaner or

11:08

make one. Air cleaners

11:10

are machines that filter the air in

11:12

your home. You'll want to get

11:14

one with a HEPA filter that'll remove fine particles.

11:17

Even better if the filter also has

11:19

activated carbon in it because that can

11:21

trap volatile organic compounds in the air

11:23

like the kind that come from paints

11:25

or cleaning products. Caro says

11:27

when you're buying an air cleaner pay attention to

11:30

its clean air delivery rate

11:32

basically how much what

11:34

square footage of area that it will clean that

11:36

can tell you if you need a bigger machine

11:38

or maybe a few of them. If

11:41

you're looking for a more budget friendly way to filter your

11:43

air there are instructions for how to build

11:45

one online and one of the experts we

11:47

talked to recommended that. Okay

11:50

number five on our list is

11:52

test your air. Air sensors

11:54

can measure the levels of pollutants

11:56

in your home. Things like fine

11:58

particles, ozone, carbon. dioxide and

12:01

nitrogen dioxide. And if

12:03

you buy a sensor, you can use it to get

12:05

smarter about what you do at home and when you

12:07

need to ventilate. Farro says you might be surprised by

12:09

what you learn. Like, she lives on

12:12

a bus route, and one time she had students come

12:14

to her house to show them the impact that would

12:16

have on her air quality. I had

12:18

students come to my house, they said, well, the

12:20

buses are coming by every day. So you

12:23

will see the increase in the particulate

12:25

matter indoors in my house. And so

12:28

we put the sensors in the house,

12:30

or at this point it was more

12:33

expensive monitors. And really what we

12:35

could see more than the buses was us making

12:38

tea, turning on the stove. It

12:42

was a much bigger signal than

12:44

having, you know, 25, 30

12:47

buses drive by my house idling because

12:49

I lived in there at the stop

12:51

sign. So that was quite interesting because the buses

12:53

are an outdoor source, so only

12:55

some of that makes it indoors, but that

12:58

stove is an indoor source. And

13:00

so the pollutant levels rose very

13:02

quickly. Farro's family had just moved

13:04

into the house, so they didn't have a range hood

13:06

over the gas stove yet, but she got

13:08

one after that. But again, you've got

13:11

to make changes that are possible for you. If you

13:13

can't afford to install a fan over the

13:15

stove, maybe you start opening a window and

13:17

using other appliances when you can, like an

13:20

electric tea kettle to heat water. If you

13:23

are looking for an air sensor, the EPA

13:25

has a website with suggestions. And Farro says

13:28

the Air Pollution Control Agency for Southern California

13:30

has also tested the quality of air sensors

13:32

on the market, and you can find those

13:34

results on its website. She says

13:37

keep in mind, some air sensors are not

13:39

the most user-friendly because they spit out an

13:41

overwhelming amount of data without telling you what

13:43

it all means. These air quality

13:45

sensors typically will give you a reading

13:47

every minute, so you know, after

13:50

a day, you've got a 1,440

13:52

reading. So what do you do

13:54

with all this? So

13:57

I suggest using a company or

14:00

working with a company that also helps you

14:02

interpret the data. One

14:04

pollutant that your air sensor might not pick

14:06

up but you should consider testing for is

14:09

radon. Radon is a

14:11

naturally occurring radioactive gas that comes

14:13

from bits of uranium that are

14:15

decaying in our soil, our rocks,

14:17

and our water. It seeps

14:19

into our homes through cracks in the floor

14:22

and the walls or gaps or on pipes

14:24

and it can cause lung cancer over time.

14:27

According to the CDC it's actually the

14:29

second leading cause of lung cancer in

14:31

the US after cigarette smoking. It's

14:34

hard to get rid of radon entirely but you

14:36

can lower your risk. First though you'll want to

14:39

find out how bad the problem is and you

14:41

can do that with an at-home radon test

14:43

kit. You'll order it online, set it on

14:46

a table for two to three days and

14:48

then mail it back. In some states

14:50

you can get a test kit for free, that's what I

14:52

just did in New York, and you can also

14:54

buy one for $17 from National Radon Program Services,

14:58

a partnership between the EPA and

15:00

the University of Kansas. If

15:02

your radon levels are higher than the

15:04

EPA's recommended threshold, the agency suggests that

15:07

you hire a contractor to fix your

15:09

home because it does require some technical

15:11

knowledge and special skills and if you

15:13

do it wrong you could make the

15:15

problem worse. If you do

15:17

take on the work some state radon offices

15:20

offer training courses. One

15:22

thing we want to note here is that

15:24

we understand it may be harder to do

15:26

things like get a radon remediation or a

15:28

mold cleanup professional if you rent than if

15:30

you own because you've got to get

15:32

your landlord involved and they might be slow to respond

15:34

or they might say it's not really a problem. That's

15:37

why testing or getting official estimates can

15:39

be really helpful but this is

15:41

a bigger conversation and it's a topic for

15:43

another episode of LifeKit. Lucky

15:46

for you we do have an episode

15:48

about how to be an empowered renter so

15:50

check that out. Okay

15:53

it's time for a recap. A

15:55

few simple things you can do to improve the

15:57

air quality in your home. Open

16:00

the windows. Keep your house

16:02

as dust free as possible. That

16:05

means take off your shoes at the door. Clean

16:07

up your mold. Buy an

16:09

air cleaner or make one. And

16:11

test your air. In particular, get yourself

16:14

a radon test kit. And

16:16

look, you don't have to do all of these things.

16:18

We live in the world. Risks are everywhere. And

16:21

we're never gonna create a 100% safe environment. But

16:25

this is about being safer and making

16:27

trade-offs and smart choices when you can.

16:32

For more Life Kit, check out our other

16:34

episodes. We've got one on how to

16:36

make hybrid work successful and another on

16:39

how to raise happy houseplants. You can

16:41

find those at npr.org/Life Kit. And if

16:43

you love Life Kit and want even

16:45

more, subscribe to our newsletter at npr.org

16:48

slash Life Kit newsletter. This

16:54

episode of Life Kit was produced by

16:56

Thomas Liu and Mia Venkat. Our visuals

16:58

editor is Beck Harlan. And our digital

17:00

editor is Malika Grebe. Meghan

17:03

Kane is our supervising editor and Beth Donovan

17:05

is our executive producer. Our

17:07

production team also includes Andy Tagle,

17:09

Audrey Wynn, Claire Marie Schneider and

17:11

Sylvie Douglas. Engineering support

17:13

comes from Neil T. Vault. I'm

17:15

Mary Elsigara. Thanks for listening. Every

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