Healthy homes without a ventilation system

There are many ways of improving your indoor climate – without acquiring a ventilation system.

  1. Air the house. Create a draught for five minutes, three times a day – also in the winter. In addition you should air the house when, and after, you have prepared food or taken either a shower or bath. This reduces the amount of damp, mould, dust mites and other hazardous materials in the air. 
  2. Clean thoroughly once a week. Many such materials bind themselves to dust, but you can get rid of them by vacuuming and washing the floor.
  3. Avoid perfume. Buy non-perfumed cleaning products – for example, choose products with Flower (European) and the Swan (Nordic) eco-labels. This is your guarantee that products are as environmentally friendly as possible.
  4. Dry clothes outside. Drying your clothes indoors creates unnecessary damp in your home.
  5. Paint carefully. Limit the amount of painting you do, and choose products with a low MAL code. All paint is classified according to a Danish MAL code, which tells you how toxic they are. The higher the code, the greater the danger to health when using the product.
  6. Avoid sprays. Do not use spray products indoors because the spray particles disperse into the atmosphere.
  7. Air the house after unpacking a new product, and dispose of the packaging. Some new products, such as toys, give off hazardous particles when first opened. For this reason you should air the house before using new products and appliances that you have just unpacked.

Page last updated 06.10.2008