In many countries like Jakarta, you may be faced with bad air quality and taking a few pointers from the Environmental Protection Agency, here are a few tips on improving air quality for your apartment:

Know what’s hurting you: The environmental protection agency specifically talks about three different things, the combustion pollutants, volatile organic compounds and asthma or allergy triggers. Combustion pollutants are things like gases or particles released from the combustion process (burning things) and they can come from items like woodstoves, gas stoves or fireplaces that are not vented properly/not vented at all. Pollutants like carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide are typical examples of combustion pollutants. Volatile Organic Compounds can be released from certain solids or liquids. These can be widely found in household products, including disinfecting supplies and even craft materials like glue. Asthma and allergies can be triggered by the presence of things like pollen or pet hairs too. Make sure whatever items you purchase are considered properly, for instance by checking the labels or any warnings on the labels. You could potentially find environmentally friendly products which would help your air quality in the long run. Be wary of perhaps the types of plants as well you have in the house to ensure allergies like hay fever are not triggered by poor air quality.

Take Steps to reduce exposure levels: Aside from choosing better cleaning products, you should try to open your windows, clean/change filters in
the house for apparatus like air purifiers or conditioners. Make sure you choose home-made air fresheners and all-natural/beeswax candles over the synthetic harmful kind as well. You could even add a few green plants! NASA has a list of plants that could reduce the volatile organic compounds that are released. All it takes is one plant being present every 50 feet in your home.

Clean the right way: With the boom of platforms like YouTube, you can make your own home-made cleaners, so if you can’t find environmentally friendly ones try taking on a few tips from online. Try to also make sure you change the filter in your vacuums regularly so that your vacuum cleans effectively. You could also add dust proof covers to mattresses and minimize the carpeting or use of rugs in the bedroom as this too could improve your air quality.

Try to keep the kitchen air clean: Open the hood vent and open a window as well when cooking. Smaller enclosed spaces can mean that fumes build up quicker and lowers the air quality of your apartment.

Bathroom mould: Use exhaust fans for your bathrooms. Usually taking warm/hot showers can change the humidity levels in your bathroom and encourage the growth of mould.

Home air tests: Many air pollutants cannot be seen or detected by smell so in order to check for these you could use these niffy air tests which can help ensure that the indoor air quality of your apartment is healthy.

As you can tell, there are many ways to ensure good air quality in your home.