Give your living room the feel-good factor

Research shows that your family’s chill-out zone harbours high levels of indoor air pollution. So what can you do about it?

the living room is a key space in the home – it’s where you and your family kick back and chill out together. So how comfortable and relaxing it looks and feels is really important to you and your loved ones. ‘I love creating an inviting environment in my living room,’ says Grazia’s Susannah Taylor. ‘Light and colour is very important to me and I’m forever reupholstering chairs and cushions with beautiful fabrics. Mentally, I feel good if my surroundings are inspiring.’

But, as well as a super-soft sofa to sprawl on and all those personal touches that make it feel homey and cosy, there is another thing that is key to a great family room – good quality air. A little known fact is that the average home can be up to five times more polluted than the air outside¹, and that includes your living room.

‘Ventilation is obviously incredibly important,’ says Susannah. ‘But in the colder months we may not want to keep the windows or doors open.’ Also, it’s worth bearing in mind that when you open your windows, you let outside pollution in – if you’re close to a busy road that means increased amounts of traffic fumes. Then, when you close the window, this pollution gets trapped inside, due to insulation and double-glazing.

You also need to think about what’s inside your home. Fireplaces and woodburning stoves, for example, release combustion gases and if you have a pet, the ‘dander’ (tiny flecks of skin and fur) it sheds could be the cause of allergens. Those flowers look beautiful but their pollen floats into the air, and even your lovely scented candle may be adding to the levels of air pollution – paraffin wax emits particulates and the wicks can produce toxic soot. ‘You only have to put a candle near a white wall and watch the paint above it turn black to realise they give off tiny particles into the air,’ says Susannah.

‘This year, the Government launched a Clean Air Strategy which details how we can reduce emissions inside and outside the home,’ she goes on. ‘This includes an emphasis on cleaner fuels, more efficient and cleaner appliances and clearer labelling of the indoor pollution emissions of products.’

These measures, however, will take time to put in place so what can you do right now to improve the air quality in your living room? ‘One of my favourite ways to keep the air cleaner is to buy goodquality house plants,’ says Susannah. ‘Not only do they look super-stylish and bring the feel of the outdoors in, but recent research has found that many of them absorb pollutants from the air around them.’2 You could also try soy candles and make sure you groom your pet regularly.

However, if you want to be completely sure about the quality of the air in your living room, investing in an air purifier is a great idea. The Dyson Pure Hot+cool™ has a filter that captures 99.95% of microscopic allergens and pollutants3. In addition, Dyson’s Air Multiplier™ technology circulates purified air throughout the entire room4, ensuring that your whole living space is benefitting from cleaner air. Use it in diffused mode for purified air only, or switch on its fan or heater to circulate cooling air or warm the room. It’s Wifi-enabled too, so you can schedule the purifier to start working on your way home, meaning it can get on with removing allergens and pollutants from the air even before you arrive. Perfect. Learn more at Dyson.co.uk/grazia