How Does Indoor Air Quality Shape our Health?
What we don’t know can hurt us.
Most of us think of pollution as something that happens outside: smoke from wildfires, hazy skylines, or the lingering aftermaths of extreme weather. However, most Canadians spend up to 90% of their time indoors, and many of the products and activities we rely on daily release small particles and chemicals into the air. We are breathing in toxins from our cooking, cleaning products, furniture and toiletries. Some effects are easy to overlook. Irritation, low-grade headaches, and frequent fatigue, though nuisances, can easily be dismissed due to the pressing demands of life. But long-term exposure can contribute to more serious health setbacks involving the lungs, heart, and even cancer.
Indoor air quality isn’t just a comfort issue; it’s a public health issue.
What Culprits cause Indoor Air Pollution?
Indoor contamination comes from a surprisingly long list of sources. Understanding pollutants is a first step toward creating healthier spaces and a better occupant experience. Particulate Matter (PM) refers to tiny solid or liquid particles suspended in the air in the form of dust, smoke, soot, and microscopic droplets. These are generated from cooking, burning candles, fireplaces, cleaning activities, and outdoor air entering through ventilation systems. Fine particles (PM2.5 or smaller) are especially harmful because they can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, increasing the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular disease.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are gases released from everyday products such as paints, adhesives, cleaning supplies, air fresheners, and personal care items. VOCs can quickly accumulate due to poor or limited ventilation with short-term exposure causing headaches, dizziness, and throat tickles. Long-term exposure is linked to organ damage and increased cancer risk for certain compounds.
Indoor Allergens include pollen, dust mites and pet dander. These particles collect in carpets, bedding, linens, and upholstered furniture and can trigger asthma, allergic reactions and chronic respiratory symptoms.
Mould thrives in damp or water-damaged environments and releases spores into the air. Breathing spores can cause nasal congestion, coughing, wheezing, and eye irritation, and can worsen existing asthma or other respiratory conditions.
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that seeps into buildings through cracks in the foundation and gathers momentum in basements and lower levels. Odourless and invisible, making it difficult to detect without testing. Long-term radon exposure is one of the leading causes of lung cancer in Canada. As of April 1, 2025, the Ontario Building Code (OBC) mandates that all new residential construction and additions include a rough-in for subfloor depressurization to mitigate radon. An Investigative piece from the CBC had experts weighing in and concluded that how we design, build and renovate our spaces has played a role in elevated levels of exposure.
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Office Spaces are Grounds for Indoor Pollution
Today, employees work in proximity, sharing desks, meeting rooms, lunch areas and other common spaces. Most of the buildings we work in are tightly sealed and rely on a centralized HVAC system that recirculates air. During the flu and cold season, limited outdoor air exchange allows exhaled particles to accumulate. Research shows that lower ventilation rates increase the transmission of respiratory infections, leading to higher illness rates, more sick days and reduced work and life productivity. Absenteeism rises as illness spreads, and often employees feel pressure to work while mildly ill, which further increases contamination risks.
Air filtration upgrades, even modest improvements in ventilation, can significantly reduce respiratory symptoms and illness-related absences. Healthy offices depend on healthy air. Increasing outdoor air supply, upgrading filtration, and designing ventilation systems with infection control in mind can help break the cycle of the moniker “it’s that time of year when everyone is sick.”
How Can we Improve Indoor Air Quality?
Improving indoor air quality requires a layered, holistic approach that addresses source control, ventilation, high-efficiency filtration, nature-based solutions and ultimately implements policy and behavioural measures. Reducing pollutants at the source is one of the most effective and preventative strategies. Consider choosing low-emission materials and furnishings, and minimizing the use of chemical cleaners and fragrances. Humans are hardwired to resist change as our brains automate to save energy, and familiarity is something the brain treats like a well-worn path-something easy to follow, hard to step off. That’s why even small changes can simulate pushing against gravity. We need to push against pollutants.
Proper ventilation allows for adequate outdoor air exchange, diluting indoor pollutants and reducing the concentration of airborne pathogens. Layered filters such as MERV 13 or HEPA capture fine particles, allergens, and infectious aerosols. Customized nature-based solutions such as living walls and interior gardens can moderate temperatures, reduce pollutants and contribute to healthier indoor environments.
Clean Indoor Air can't Wait: Policy needs to Catch Up
Long-term improvements must be supported by policy and behavioural measures. The lack of indoor air quality regulations in Canada is remiss. There are guidelines, but they are voluntary, and currently, there is no legally binding Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) standard. Even in the absence of regulation, there are solutions. Governments can implement mandatory reporting for public buildings, provide financial incentives for ventilation upgrades and increase the transparency for schools, workplaces, and government facilities. Programs and policies that prioritize healthy indoor environments, prioritize people and are essential for long-term community health.
Better buildings begin with indoor air policies.
Was COVID-19 a Wake-up Call?
The global pandemic revealed how easily airborne viruses spread, and how effective ventilation, filtration, and occupancy measures can be. But once restrictions were lifted, so did our collective attention to indoor air quality. The lessons remain: preventative measures can reduce seasonal outbreaks and protect vulnerable populations. Ensuring public spaces maintain proper ventilation systems is a shared responsibility that benefits everyone, it also takes the burden off of our already strained healthcare system. Respiratory issues, including asthma, are among the leading causes of hospitalization for children. Overcrowded hospitals face increased pressure during peak illness seasons, cleaner indoor air will reduce hospital visits, shorten patient recovery times, lower the risk of secondary infections and ease up on healthcare resources.
Clean air isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.
Breathe Better. Live Better.
Indoor air quality quietly shapes our health, focus, and overall sense of well-being, yet it remains one of the most underestimated and under-acknowledged environmental challenges of our time. As cities continue to densify and climate pressures rise, creating healthier indoor spaces shouldn’t be an option. This is not about comfort or convenience. It influences how we feel day to day, how well we focus, and how healthy our communities are over time.
The air inside our buildings should sustain us, not work against us. Now is the moment to champion cleaner, safer, and more resilient indoor environments that support everyone who lives, works, plays and learns within them.
If you’re interested in solutions that actively eliminate indoor air pollution, let us introduce you to GINKGO Air, our low-maintenance, high-performing suite of hybrid purification systems.
