When thinking of deodorant, soap or perfume, someone’s first thought doesn’t usually go to pollution. With many of the products used in homes, it’s hard to associate them with negative consequences because of their good smell, but indoor air pollution is a serious human health threat. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that indoor air can be anywhere from “two to five times as polluted as outdoor air.” With this, a 2012 World Health Organization (WHO) study found that “complications from breathing dirty indoor air are responsible for 4.3 million premature deaths each year.”

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A recent study by the journal Science shows that products such as perfumes, paints and other consumer products can emit the same level of “volatile organic compounds” as cars and trucks do. These volatile organic compounds, or V.O.C.s, are the “building blocks of smog, namely ozone,” according to the New York Times, which can affect those with asthma or cause permanent lung damage, and “another type of pollution known as PM2.5,” which is linked to heart attacks, strokes and lung cancer. Regulations on cars and trucks have reduced the amount of V.O.C. emissions from them, and have given scientists the opportunity to identify the risks associated with household products. Because of this, a simulation of air quality in Los Angeles was constructed, and determined that “roughly half of the V.O.C.s in Los Angeles could be attributed to consumer products.”

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Other effects of indoor air pollution involve more immediate problems, from irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, to headaches, dizziness and fatigue. Another story by the New York Times states that what many people think is a “perpetual cold” that they cannot get rid of is often caused by the air they breathe in their home, school or job.

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It goes beyond just personal hygiene and cleaning products, however. Studies show that even furniture could contribute to indoor air pollution. The Washington Post states that, through “off-gassing” or the giving off of a chemical, “your new carpet or cabinet could be subtly poisoning you with chemicals such as benzene, ethylene glycol or formaldehyde.” Greenguard developed a way to test furniture to determine if they really do give off gaseous chemicals, by isolating them in airtight chambers with tubes that measure the level of chemicals that come off. One of these tests, done on furniture for a baby’s nursery, showed levels of formaldehyde seven times the level California considers safe, as well as 100 different chemicals found.

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Unfortunately, avoiding indoor air pollution altogether is not a possibility. Jonathan Levy, an environmental health professor at Boston University’s School of Public Health, summed this up by stating, “You can’t necessarily eliminate these things. It’s just about awareness, thoughtfulness, and really trying to be clever where you have the choice in alternative product use.” Despite the difficulty of combating indoor air pollution, the EPA lists ways to improve indoor air quality, the first being source control. The sources of specific types of pollution can be sealed or closed, and others, such as stoves, can be adjusted in order to reduce the amount of emissions produced. The second is ventilation control, which encourages opening windows and operating fans when engaging in activities that will increase the amount of indoor pollution, such as painting or cooking. The last suggested solution is air cleaners, though they are “generally not designed to removed gaseous pollutants.”