World Ventil8 Day: How you can live a healthier, happier autumn in your home

Today is World Ventil8 Day, which raises awareness of the importance of ventilation for wellbeing. With it, a leading academic has shared tips on how to prepare your home for a healthier autumn.

Professor Cath Noakes, of the School of Civil Engineering, is passionate about improving indoor air quality and the importance of ventilation in indoor spaces. She has championed World Ventil8 Day (November 8) since it was initially created from an idea by the Leeds-led Future Urban Ventilation Network which, in its third year as of 2024, continues to engage with researchers, companies and professional bodies all over the world.

To mark this year’s event, Professor Noakes has written a short list of the top five things we can all do to ventilate our homes this autumn, and encourage a healthier environment for ourselves, friends, and family.

Ventilation is an important part of keeping you and your home healthy. Having good ventilation removes pollutants, viruses and moisture that are generated by people, products and activities at home.

This can reduce transmission of respiratory infections, limit the risk of damp and mould in your home and help manage conditions such as allergies and asthma. We also know that better ventilation is associated with other health and wellbeing benefits such as improved sleep quality.

Professor Cath Noakes.

But it can be a challenge, especially if your home relies on windows for ventilation. Opening windows for long periods when it is cold and damp outside is not an easy sell. However, there are things that you can do that can help.

1. Use your cooker hood: There is growing evidence that indoor pollution such as NOx from gas stoves has health impacts, such as increased risks of asthma. Cooking also generates moisture which can increase the risk of damp and mould in your home as well as particles and odours. Using the extract fan above your hob when cooking is a really effective way of reducing these exposures. Studies show that using the back rings on a hob with the cooker hood extract switched on is an effective way to reduce exposure to pollutants from cooking.

2. Ventilate after showering: Showering and bathing create lots of moisture which can lead to damp and mould in bathrooms. If you have an extract fan, then using it during and for five to ten minutes after showering can significantly reduce this issue. If you don’t have a fan, then opening a window for just a few minutes afterwards can make a big difference.

3. Use your trickle vents: Lots of homes incorporate simple passive vents which are often located at the top of a window. Ensuring that these are kept open helps to manage a small airflow in your home constantly without introducing cold drafts or compromising security.

4. Ventilate your bedroom: We spend over a quarter of our lives asleep and therefore the air quality in your bedroom is really important. Ensuring that vents are open or opening a window, even just a crack, can enable some airflow in your bedroom overnight. In cold weather, opening high level windows can enable airflow with less risk of cold drafts. Regularly airing your bedroom for a few minutes each day can also help to tackle risks such as mould and damp.

5. Look into using an air cleaner: Portable air cleaners can also provide another way to improve the indoor air quality in your home. They can be particularly useful where people in your home are more vulnerable to air pollution or the effects of respiratory infections and can be very useful when ventilation is difficult due to the weather or external air pollution. Most air cleaners use a fine grade of filter (a HEPA filter) which reduces the number of particles, including viruses, from the air.

There is growing evidence that good indoor air quality in buildings is an important part of leading a healthy life. Being more aware of the air that we breathe and taking simple steps can go a long way. For more information on the importance of ventilation, check out the World Ventilation Day website.

Cath’s research team at the University has developed models to simulate the spread of pathogens inside buildings and other enclosed spaces – and the role of ventilation, air-filtration and disinfection systems in reducing those risks.