The ‘cosy killers’: indoor air quality in focus

Winter is a time for creating a warm, cosy atmosphere inside but how we heat, light and fragrance our homes during the colder months could be slowly poisoning us.

There is a growing band of research that indicates fashion items and home trends  - known collectively as the cosy killers - are behind a rise in indoor pollution, so you may like to consider how and when you use the following:

Gas boilers

Many of us switch on the central heating and turn up the thermostat without much thought but this appliance can be the root cause of a deadly indoor pollutant. Old or faulty gas boilers can leach poisonous carbon monoxide into the home – a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas.

Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, vertigo and weakness but at its most serious, it can cause confusion, loss of consciousness and death. Homeowners should service boilers on an annual basis and have a carbon monoxide alarm in their property. For landlords, it is a legal requirement to install a carbon monoxide alarm in any lived-in room that contains a fixed combustion appliance, such as a gas or oil boiler, log-burning stove or open fire.

Wood burners

Although the worst polluting sources of heat are open fires, our determination to follow heating fashions carries risk. A study of wood burner use in 19 domestic homes, led by university-based scientists in the UK, found wood burners tripled the level of harmful particles inside homes, with pollution spiking when the burner door was opened for refuelling

Although new legislation came into force on 1st January 2022, ruling that all new wood burning stoves in the UK must comply with Ecodesign regulations, modern models still emit pollutants including particulate matter (PM2.5), carbon monoxide, organic gaseous compounds and nitrogen oxides.

Repeated exposure to these gases and nanoparticles can increase the risk of early death from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, as well as result in increased hospital admissions, and even make us more susceptible to depression and dementia. The risk is heightened among the young, with children exposed to PM2.5 more likely to have reduced lung function and develop asthma.

The threat from wood burners has been deemed so serious that the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has asked the Government to phase out domestic wood-burning in urban areas until it is ultimately banned, to prevent damage to developing brains and bodies.

Bioethanol fires

Fairly new to the domestic heating market are indoor bioethanol fires, which run off ethanol – a fuel made by fermenting the sugars in plants like corn, wheat and potatoes. Although bioethanol fires do not emit carbon monoxide, a study on alcohol-powered flueless fireplace combustion, requested by the European Commission, and a previous study by the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, flagged up other emissions. When lit, nitrous oxides and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in levels that ‘ largely exceed most of the other domestic sources’ were detected.

Candles & incense

While candles were the preserve of power cuts and churches, the flicker of a flame is firmly back in fashion. In fact, figures released by Kantar showed that between March 2021 and 2022, UK consumers spent £418m on scented candles. Behind the ambient light source and wafts of fresh cotton and freesia, however, lies a level of indoor air pollution not to be ignored.

A study cited in a Defra report on indoor air quality found harmful indoor particles and VOCs, such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and benzene, were released when candles and incense were burnt. If you must light candles, look for those made from natural waxes like beeswax, soy or coconut, with unscented, fragrance-free and colour-free examples preferable.

Plug-in air fresheners

You know indoor air pollution is a serious matter when Public Health England’s Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards gets involved. Its 2015 study discovered plug-in air fresheners produce ‘considerable’ levels of formaldehyde, petroleum products, naphthalene and p-dichlorobenzene. Side effects may include migraines, dermatitis, potential lung damage and a raised risk of asthma, so maybe it’s time to ditch the winter’s walk and mulled wine scents.

If you are thinking of moving home and would like advice on how your home is heated, please contact our team today.