Healthy Home Tips: Holiday Threats to Indoor Air Quality

The ragweed season is over, and the air outside feels clean and crisp. Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah are approaching.

It’s an exciting and busy time of year, but also one in which parents with children who have asthma or allergies have to be careful not to introduce irritants and allergens, along with their holiday traditions, into their homes.

(Photo: (c) Jeffrey May 2008: The jar rim is black, but most of the soot from this candle went into the air.)

Below are some tips to help you keep the air in your home contaminant-free during the holidays.

1. Cooking. You may be cooking more now than at any other time of year. Smoke can be irritating to breathe, especially for those who already struggle with respiratory health symptoms. In addition, carbon monoxide from poorly adjusted gas burners can cause headaches (a yellow flame on a burner is a sign of carbon-monoxide emission). When you cook, use the stove-exhaust fan, which in the best of all possible worlds should be vented to the exterior.

2. Candles. Jar candles can be soothing, but they also produce a lot of soot, which causes costly cosmetic damage by staining walls and ceilings. Soot particles are also small enough to remain suspended permanently in air and to be breathed deeply into the lung. And if the particles happen to impact potentially allergenic substances like mold or pet dander, they can act as surrogate allergens. So avoid burning jar candles. Tapered candles are okay, as long as they are not placed in drafty areas, because a flickering flame also produces soot.

3. Fragrances. Some people find fragrances irritating to breathe, so don’t use anything that emits a smell associated with the holidays, including pine-scented candles and plug-ins.

4. The Fireplace. A wood fireplace or stove is cozy during the holiday season. Wood, however, can be contaminated with fungi, so store your firewood outside, covered and up off the ground. Promptly vacuum up any bark or wood bits that fall on the floor when you carry the wood inside. If you have a gas fireplace that vents to the interior rather than exterior, don’t use it too often, and have a carbon monoxide detector nearby.

5. Greens. Christmas trees and decorative boughs can get moldy. If anyone in your family is sensitized to mold, consider having an artificial tree and boughs instead.

6. Stored Decorations. Many families use the same holiday decorations year after year, and store them in a basement, attic or garage. Unfortunately, these areas accumulate allergenic dust. When you first take your decorations out for the holidays, clean the boxes they are stored in thoroughly with a suitable household- cleaning product before bringing them into the living room. If the decorations are not stored in boxes, clean them individually and use a box next time for storage. Anything cushioned that smells musty should probably be discarded.

7. Cleaning. The holidays are over and now you have to clean. Use a HEPA vacuum (one with a high efficiency particulate arrestance filter), which won’t spew out allergens and irritants in its exhaust stream. Avoid using fragranced cleaning products. If you have to use a spray product, spray it onto a cleaning rag rather than onto the surface, to minimize the spread of the chemical into the air. If you placed your Christmas tree over or near a hot-air register, after the tree is gone, remove the grille and clean out the duct boot.