It’s been almost two years since the ongoing coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic began and many of us have had to adapt to the “new normal” of living. We’ve become accustomed to social distancing, stay-at-home mandates, and isolating ourselves from society for weeks at a time in order to help stop the spread of this contagious virus. Because of the increased amount of time spent at home, our homes have acquired what we call “quarantine air”, which results in a host of smells undetected to us because we have become used to these smells to almost deem them invisible to our nostrils. Continue reading as we have identified 5 signs that your home may have accumulated quarantine air during your extended time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• 1. Pandemic Cooking: Hunkering down for quarantine meant enduring plenty of sacrifices including saying goodbye to going out to some of our favorite restaurants. Sure you could order delivery, but it’s just not the same. As a result, many of us threw on our chef hats and started exploring our culinary sides in the kitchen. To be exact,  85% of consumers say their eating habits have altered as a result of the pandemic. With all these new meals coming out of the kitchen, our homes have absorbed a consortium of smells such as bacon, burnt toast, fish, curry, garlic, and grease that may have seeped into your home’s walls. 

• 2. Working From Home (WFH): Working remotely used to be considered a luxury before the pandemic began. Now that millions worldwide have converted their extra space in their living rooms into a home office, it's safe to say that many of us now live at work! Those 40 plus hours a week we used to dedicate to work are now spent solely in the comfort of our home. Increased bathroom usage, piled up trash, and additional food waste are all unwanted side effects of working from home which all negatively contribute to the air quality in your home. With such a significant amount of time spent at home, many of us have surely become noseblind to the reduced quality of clean air within our home’s walls.

• 3. Chemicals in the Air: With increased malodors running rampant in our homes, many of us have had to turn to quick fixes such as fragrances and aroma-filled chemicals to combat the pungent stench in our homes. What we may not be aware of is the harm associated with relying on these alternatives. A vast array of household cleaning chemicals and fragrances can possess high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which can be detrimental to your health. Although the short term effect of masking foul odors is a small win, the long term effects of breathing manufactured cleaning chemicals and air fresheners can result in adverse health effects.

• 4. Home Workouts: Another sacrifice we had to adapt to in this pandemic era was holding off on heading to the gym. In order to sculpt our “quarantine bodies'” without a gym at our disposal, we were forced to turn our domiciles into home gyms. With your home accumulating the smell of sweat rapidly, that once again acts negatively to your indoor air quality. Not to mention, wearing comfier gym clothes during your workouts result in more absorbent fabrics that act as a sponge and work against you in absorbing those foul smells.  

• 5. Virus Contaminants: If you were one of the millions of individuals who contracted COVID-19 and rode out the effects in isolation within your home, you may want to purify your air if you haven’t done so already. As opposed to being outdoors, indoor air doesn’t get as properly ventilated, leaving you to breathe in recycled air. Purifying the air of contaminants is not only healthy for yourself, but also to anyone else who may be visiting you in the near future. In conjunction with the aforementioned signs, all these are evidence enough that your quarantine air needs to be addressed immediatedly!