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    Secrets to Cleaner Indoor Air

    These tools and tips can help you breathe more easily this winter and beyond

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    During the winter when your windows are probably closed to keep out the cold, the air inside your home may get stuffy.

    more on indoor air quality

    It may also contain contaminants like dust, mold, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from, say, aerosol sprays, and fine particulates like smoke, which have been linked to heart and lung problems.

    Keeping the air as clean as possible can limit your exposure to those pollutants and is especially important if you have allergies, asthma, or other respiratory ills. Here, CR’s home appliance experts—including Misha Kollontai, who leads our air filter and air purifier testing—offer the steps that can help.

    To reveal each tip, click or hover your cursor over the dots (or tap on a mobile device) on the illustration below.

    Click on dots to learn more.

    Illustration: Chris Philpot

    Products for Cleaner Air

    If you’re looking for an air purifier, an air quality monitor, or a vacuum, consider these products, which performed well in Consumer Reports’ tests.

    Editor’s Note: A version of this article also appeared in the November 2024 issue of Consumer Reports On Health.


    Catherine Roberts

    Catherine Roberts is a health and science journalist at Consumer Reports. She has been at CR since 2016, covering infectious diseases, bugs and bug sprays, consumer medical devices like hearing aids and blood pressure monitors, health privacy, and more. As a civilian, her passions include bike rides, horror films and fiction, and research rabbit holes. Follow her on Twitter @catharob.

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